Ancestors and descendants of Elisha Mason, Litchfield, Connecticut, 1759-1858, and his wife Lucretia Webster, 1766-1853

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1131979

GENEALOGY COL-LECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

3 1833 01328 8508

Blmegtor* anb ^tittnhanti

OF

oSltefja M^on...

Litchfield. Connecticut
1759-1858

AND HIS WIFE

Hucretta Wtbxttv

1766-1853

f±f. z>

^.a COMPILED BY

AA %YI N\ GEORGE W. MASON

LITCHFIELD, "CT5FJTT

THE MATTATUCK PHtBS. Inc.
watckiuht, CONN.
1911

1131979

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—tlje Anreatora anb learenbanta of Pialja
JRaaon anb ICurretia (debater) Haaon.

31niroi>uctton

So far as known this is the first attempt to gather
for publication the ancestral facts concerning the
Mason family of Litchfield, Conn. It has been pio-
neer work, and no doubt will show more or less of
incompleteness. Yet, much labor has been given to
its pages. To collect its facts, the recollections of
the living, the traditions of the past, and records,
town, church, probate, land and court, have been
levied upon with the results herein recorded. In
whatever respects this work may be thought un-
successful, it surely shows some old errors driven
out and some new facts brought to light. This
alone is sufficient to justify its existence.

On the part of the compilers it has been a labor
of love with no thought of profit. Their purpose
has been to make a permanent record of facts, many
of which were in danger of being forever forgotten
and lost ; also to stimulate among the widely scatter-
ed members of the family a feeling of kinship and
clanship, and perhaps to lay a foundation on which
a more full and complete Family History could be
built in the days to come. Time will reveal how
fully they have accomplished their purpose.

It is remarkable how little has been published, or
even known, concerning the posterity of Gov. John
Webster, and of John Mason of Hartford. This
neglect is somewhat remedied in these pages. Yet
much remains to be discovered and published. As
to John Mason, of Hartford, we know that he was
born about 1652, that he married in Dedham, Mass.,

6 INTRODUCTION

in 1676, and that he appears in Hartford not long
after this last date. His birthplace and ancestors are
not known. The mystery of his ancestors is the great
family problem. To solve it would be a triumph. To
this John Mason of Hartford the line runs back
without a break, but no further.

In this compilation no sketches of the living have
been attempted. The reasons will readily be seen
by all the thoughtful. On the other hand, it is a
matter of sincere regret that so many worthy dead
*re left, for want of the requisite information, with-
out even a few lines concerning their lives and
deeds.

Thanks are due and are hereby tendered to all
who have so heartily co-operated to make this un-
dertaking a success. To Mr. James Allen Kibbe
of Warehouse Point, Connecticut, is due an appre-
ciative remembrance for his patient research and
for his experienced genealogical touch, which has
been applied to various stages of the work. The
compilers for themselves ask only for friendly criti-
cism and due appreciation of their labors. By
them this little book is sent forth, — hoping that the
achievements and virtues of their ancestors herein
recorded may incite the living to nobler deeds and
a better life.

GEORGE W. MASON.
ARTHUR L. CLARK.
*E. P. MASON.

*Deceased March 4, 1911.

MASON ANCESTRY

ANTECEDENT

To the American Revolution

OF

THREE GENERATIONS OF

THE NAME

WITH THE FAMILIES THEREOF

1676-1785

<$enealogp

JOHN MASON, of Hartford, Conn.

Born about 1652; m. 5th, 11 mo, 1676, Hannah
Haws (or Hawes) of Dedbam, Mass.; d. Feb. 19, 1698,
in Hartford, Conn.; aged 46 years.

Children (2).

1. Mary (2), b. September 1677; m. June 16, 1698,
Nathaniel Andrews of Hartford.

2. Hannah (2), b. January I08O-I68I.

3. John (2), b. January, 1684-1685.

4. Joseph (2), b. March 1688.

5. Abigail (2), b. October, 1690.

6. Jonathan (2), b. November, 1693; m. Susannah
Dix; had three children; bap. First Church, Hart-
ford.

7. Deborah (2), bap. December 3, 169 3.

8. Lydia (2), b. July 1696; m. June 25, 1718, Joan
Seymore of Hartford.

John Mason of Hartford has been thought by
some persons to have been the son of Major John
Mason the conquerer of the Pequots. This must
be incorrect, for Major John Mason had Ann b.
1650, Daniel b. 1652, Elizabeth b. 1654; while ac-
cording to his own affidavit John Mason of Harr-
ford was born about 1652. Besides Major John
Mason had a son John who lived in Norwich, Conn,
and who died in 1676, and whose record is well
known. Therefore John Mason of Hartford (b.
1652, d. 1698) was not the son of Major John Ma-
son.

10 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

It has also been stated and published that Han-
nah the wife of John Mason of Hartford was the
daughter of Daniel Arnold of Hartford, son of John
Arnold. This also must be all wrong, for John
Arnold in his will, dated Hartford 22, Aug. 1664,
says, "My will is that if my son Daniel shall live
and be married and have a child or children," etc.
So, in 1664 Daniel Arnold was not married. But
Hannah, wife of John Mason of Hartford had a
child born in 1677, thirteen years after the date of
this will — at which time Daniel Arnold's eldest child
could hardly have been over ten years of age. Be-
sides, by her own affidavit, Hannah, wife of John
Mason of Hartford, was born in 1655 (37 years old
in 1692) which fixes her birth at about nine years
earlier than the date of the above will in which the
statement is made that Daniel Arnold was not then
married. Therefore Hannah, wife of John Masor,
was not the daughter of Daniel Arnold of Hartford.

It has lately been found that John Mason married
in Dedham, Mass., 5th of the 11th, 1676, Hannah
Haws (or Hawes), born in Dedham 1 of the 12t>h mo.,
1654, daughter of Edward and Eliony Haws of
Dedham, Mass.

The first record found in Hartford concerning
John Mason is in the vote of Hartford Town Meet-
ing "Febr. 11, 1683" granting "to John Mason
Ten acors of Land on The comons & in powars The
comity to Lay it out to him, That comity that is
This day choas to Lay out The highway." In 1686
he was elected by the town, Chimney Viewer for the
South Side. This indicates that he was then living
south of the Little (or Park) river. There is no

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 11

doubt, the above ten acres had been laid out to him.
In March, 1687, John Mason was received into "full
communion" in the First Church, Hartford. At
the same time his son Joseph was baptized. This
makes it probable that he had been a church mem-
ber in some other town and there had his three
oldest children baptized, otherwise they would cer-
tainly have been baptized with Joseph. It is re-
markable that his wife Hannah was not baptized
until 1 March, 1695-6. She "owned the covenant1"
on the same day. There is found no evidence that
she was ever "in full communion."

At the session of Hartford Probate Court held
25 March, 1692 in an affidavit concerning the will
of Daniel Arnold, John Mason gives his age as about
40 years, and his wife Hannah gives her age as about
37 years. This places his birth at about 1652 and
hers about 1655. John Mason had at least eight
children. Of these Deborah doubtless died early.
John was living as late as 1708, when with his
mother Hannah Mason he deeded land to Nath-
aniel Arnold. All that is known of Hannah and
Abigail is that they were living in 1698 when their
father's estate was probated. Of the other four
children a fair record is found.

In Hartford Probate Records, Book 1, page 33, is
given the Inventory of John Mason's estate, dated
April 13, 1698. On the back of this Inventory is
given the names of his children and their ages na
follows: — Mary was 20 years old in September,
1697 ; Hannah was 17 years old in January, 1697-8 ;
John was 13 years old in January, 1697-8 ; Joseph
was 10 years old in March, 1698; Abigail was 7

12 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

years old in October, 1697 ; Jonathan was 4 years
old in November, 1697 ; Lydia was 1 year old in
July, 1697. Deborah is not in the list and was
doubtless not then living. The mother of this youth-
ful family did not marry again. She was living as
late as April 22, 1727, when she was still Hannah
Mason. She was then 72 years old.

The above mentioned Inventory shows that John
Mason when he died owned the following real es-
tate: House and home lot £120; 14 acres over the
river by Arthur Smith's £30; — 18 acres at 4 mile
Hill £9. The following abstracts are taken from the
Hartford Land Records: — Book 2, page 17, dated
January 15, 1708-9, Nathaniel Arnold, oldest living
son of Daniel Arnold, deceased, to the heirs of John
Mason, deceased, all of Hartford, Quit Claim of all
rights in 3y2 acres of land in Hartford which was
deeded by "my" father, Daniel Arnold, deceased,
to John Mason of Hartford, deceased, said deed
bearing date April 29, 1691.

Ditto, Book 1, page 502, January 15, 1708-9, Han-
nah Mason, widow, iaud John Mason, said Hannah
being widow of John Mason, late of Hartford de-
ceased, being empowered by the General Court, —
to Nathaniel Arnold of Hartford, 17y2 acres of land
in Hartford.

Note : — These two deeds were to settle for the
land which John Mason bought of Daniel Arnold in
his life-time, but had not been fully paid for before he
died. The widow kept 3Vo acres and deeded the
rest back to the Arnolds. The sum not paid was
£50 and is mentioned in Daniel Arnold's will.

Ditto, Book 3, page 221, dated February 20, 1718-

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 13

9. Joseph Mason to Jonathan Mason, both of Hart-
ford, for £46. Quit Claim of all rights in estate of
John Mason of Hartford, deceased, father of said
Joseph and Jonathan, and especially all rights in
14 acres in Hartford, which was part of the estate
of said John Mason, deceased, said land bounded
cast on Little River.

Ditto, Book 4, page 345, April 22, 1727, Jonathan
Mason to John Austin, both of Hartford, 41/2 acres
in Hartford with house, barn, and half a cider mill
thereon; reserving to my mother, Hannah Mason
the use and improvement of one-third of the land
and house during her natural life.

Note : — Therefore, Hannah, widow of John Ma-
son was living as late as 1727.

Edward Hawes, born in England. Married Eliony
Lombard, Dedbam, Mass., April 15, 1648; d.. June 28\
1698. Emigrant 1635.

Children.

1. Lydia, b. Jan. 26, 1649.

2. Mary, b. Nov. 4, 1650.

3. Daniel.

4. Hannah, b. Feb. 1, 1655; m. John Mason, Jan. 5,
1676.

5. John, b. Dec. 17, 1656; d. Feb. 21, 1732.

6. Nathaniel, b. Aug. 14, 1660; d. Oct 4, 1714.

7. Abigail, b. Oct. 2, 1662.

8. Joseph, b. Aug. 9, 1664.

9. Deborah, b. Sept. 1, 1666; m. 1 Pond, 2 Bacon.

Of the parents of this frontier family much
is written between the lines, in the his-
tory of Dedham. Of the father it appears
that he was of the Colony, authorized in

14 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

1636, to proceed to "Mellouionopoad," (Dedham at
the Falls of Charles River, about 25 m. S. W. of
Cambridge), with Robert Mason and others, and
occupy an outpost thereabouts. It was the old story ;
but these men held on, and in 1648 Hawes married,
built a cabin and commenced a career of prosperity ;
for "Edward Hawes was a successful farmer, a
strict Puritan and religiously Orthodox ! ' ' He seems
to have been of the first order of the stalwart and
useful men of his time about Dedham and Med-
field during a long life, which singularly ended
the same year as that of his son-in-law, John Mason
at Hartford in 1698.

From Edward Hawes' will, June 4th, 1697.

"Item. What have already been given to my
loving daughters, Lydia Gay, Hannah Mason, Abi-
gail Vales and Deborah Pond is to be their full part
of my estate." These were the progenitors of a
numerous and influential family of the name, now
represented in many states.

The family Coat of Arms in England was des-
cribed— "He be are tli azure — a f ess-wave between
three lions passant, or armed and langued. This is
the Coat Armour of John Hawes, or Hawiss of
London who draweth his descent from William
Hawiss of Walsham of the Willows in Suffolk,
which William was seized of Lands there in the
time of Edward the Third" — .

JOSEPH MASON of Hartford and Litchfield, Conn.

John 1.

Born March, 1688, in Hartford, Conn.; m. Jan. 8,

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 15

1713, Mary , who died in Litchfield, Feb. 10th,

1787, in her 95th year. He d. early in 1773 in Litch-
field, Conn.

Children (3).

1. Mary (3), b. Aug. 30, 1715; bap. First Church,
Hartford, Oct. 9, 1715.

2. John (3), b. Aug. 6, 1717; bap. First Church, Hart-
ford, Aug. 18, 1717; d. Jan. 26, 1753.

3. Hannah (3), b. Jan. 6, 1719-1720.

4. Abigail (3), b. March 19, 1723.

5. Joseph (3), b. Nov. 17, 1725; d. March 20, 1772.

6. Lydia (3), b. April 19, 1728.

7. Ruth (3), b. Jan. 22, 1730.

8. Jonathan (3), b. March 27, 1733.

9. Joshua (3), b. July 19, 1736.

Joseph Mason sold 'his home in Hartford to his
brother Jonathan, February 20, 1719. See Hart-
ford Land Record, Book 3, page 221. He removed
to Litchfield, Connecticut with the pioneer colony
of 1720 and was one of the 57 original
proprietors of that town. His original home
lot, No. 54, is now known as "Camp Dut-
ton." This, with 20 acres adjoining, which were
bought of Marcy Allen, mother of Col. Ethan Allen,
was his homestead for life. Although he bought
land near by and miles away, he never left the first
home. Here he evidently lived a life of industry,
peace, and usefulness. On one occasion at least, ha
was a "Defender of the Faith,"— for he successfully
defended his pastor in his time of trouble. Little
is known of his long life. Had the town records
been more complete and the church records not be-m
burned, we should surely have known much more
about these patriarchs.

16 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

JOSEPH MASON (4), Jr. of Litchfield, Conn. — Joseph
2, John 1.

Born Nov. 17, 1725, in Litchfield, Conn; m. Nov. 16,
1749, Patience Rossiter, who d. Nov. 17, 1750; m. June
4, 1754, Rebecca Skinner of Hartford; d. March 20,
1772, in Litchfield, Conn., at the age of 46 years.
Children (7), born in Litchfield, Conn.
Patience (4),

Patience (4), )
Prudence (4), } b' Nov' 13' 175°-

3. Joseph (4), b. April 23, 1755; d. March 21, 1844.

4. Ashbel (4), b. April 27, 1757.

5. Elisha (4), b. April 24, 1759; d. June 1, 1858.

6. Stephen (4), b. Aug. 10, 1761.

7. George (4), b. Feb. 16, 1763.

'Joseph Mason died about one year before his
father. His estate was probated in March, 1772;
while the will of Joseph Mason, Senior, is dated March
26, 1773, in which he mentions the heirs of his son
Joseph. This Joseph Mason, the younger, lived a
short life, yet his name frequently appears in land
transactions and in the records of estates. He was
administrator on the estate of his neighbor, Benja-
min Webster the pioneer, whose descendant, Lu-
cretia Webster was to be the wife of Elisha Mason,
son of this Joseph Mason the administrator.

Thus, it appears that he was a man of ability and
of good character. His family were all reared on
Chestnut Hill in the town of Litchfield. It is not
known whether or not he built the house now known
as the "Mason Homestead" in Litchfield. Perhaps
i1 was built by his son Elisha, years after his father's
death. It is, however, known that a house stood on
the place, when Joseph Mason, Sr., deeded the

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 17

property to Joseph, Jr., and that his son Elisha was
born in a house nearly opposite. This last fact sug-
gests that the present house may then (1759) have
been in process of building. Whenever it was built,
or by whom, its timbers if cared for, can be relied
upon to last for centuries to come.

The following abstract is taken from Hartford
Land Records, Book 9, page 58, dated October 1,
1755 : Joseph Mason, Jr., and Rebecca, his wife,
both of Litchfield, Conn, for £100 "old tenor," to
Samuel Bernard of Hartford, land in Hartford, be
ing one-third of a 20 acre lot on the east-side of
Rocky Hill. No doubt, the proceeds of this land were
brought into the family by Rebecca Skinner Mason,
the wife and mother. Little as we know of the pion-
eer fathers, how much less we know of the mothers !

John Skinner of Hartford.

Was one of Hooker's party and original proprietor
there. By the mention of a certain will, it is prob-
able that John Skinner, Sr., came from Bramtrce
County, Essex, Eng. The brothers fled to Vermont,
Conn., and Maryland after the Revolution; one being
High Sheriff.

John m. Mary, daughter of Joseph Loomis, Sr.,
and died in 1659. Skinner's father-in-law was
ordered by Magistrates to distribute the estate
among his children as follows :

Mary b. 1638 ; Ann, b. 1639 ; John b. 1641 ; Joseph,
b. 1643 ; Richard b. 1646 ; Joseph m. April 5, 1666,
Mary, dau. of Wm. Filley of Windsor.

"Vote by W. Church on the baptism of Joseph

18 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Skinner. Feb. 16, 1678. — Joseph Skinner never
having been baptized desires that he might be, and
ye Church granted it; so on condition that he
would be tried (examined) concerning his knowl-
edge and blameless life, and own ye Church Cove-
nant, and come under discipline to be owned as a
Ch., member, and so any other might come in like
manner, man or woman kind." On March 2nd,
there was none lay any blame on him, and so he
owned ye Ch. Govt., and was baptized. His wife
died April 13, 1771.

Children. Mary, bap. Sept. 22, 1667, John d. 1704.
Elizabeth, b. June 23, 1669. Isaac, b. Aug. 1671. Jos-
eph, b. about 1673. Thomas, bap. Dec. 23, 1667.

Joseph, m. Dorothy Hosmer, Jan 1st, 1696, who
died March, 1702. He married for his second wife
Elizabeth Olmsted, Jan 28, 1708, of Hartford.

Children.

1. Joseph b. Oct. 31, 1697.

2. Stephen, b. Aug. 13, 1699.

3. Jonathan, b. May. 13, 1711.

4. Elizabeth, b. Aug. 30, 1713! m. Knight Sexton.

5. Stephen, b. Mar. 11, 1715; d. July 11, 1758.

6. Dorothy, b. Mar. 30, 1718; m. George Olcott.

7. Hannah, b. Feb. 7, 1719; m. Samuel Barnard.

8. Rebecca, b. June 17, 1722; m. Joseph Mason, Jr.

N. B. — For Webster Ancestry seepages 103-110.

ELISHA MASON

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 19

ELISHA MASON

and

LUCRETIA WEBSTER.

ELISHA MASOX, Joseph 3, Joseph 2, John 1.

Born April 24, 175 9, in Litchfield, Conn.; m. Jan. 8,
1785, Lucretia Webster of Litchfield, Conn.; who d. Feb.
11, 1853; d. June 1, 1858, in Litchfield, Conn.

Children all born in Litchfield,

1. Cynthia (5), b. July 24, 1786. 5.

2. Stephen (5), b. April 11, 1787; d. May 17, 1787.

3. Stephen (5), b. May 31, 1788. G.

4. Lucretia (5), b. Nov. 1, 17 9 0. 7.
o. Caroline (5), b. Dec. 22, 1792. 8.

6. Elisha (5), b. June 5, 1795; d. June 10, 1817. 9.

7. Elijah (5), b. June 7, 1797; d. April 14, 1799.

8. Elijah (5), b. May 24, 1799. 10.

9. Joseph William (5), b. May 6, 1801. 11.

10. Edwin (5), b. Aug. 17, 1803. 12.

11. Benj. Webster (5), b. May 25, 1806. 13.

12. Joshua (5), b. Feb. 18, 1809; d. Jan. 18, 1832. 11.

Elisha Mason (4) has his worthy record well told
in the following extracts : —

From New England Historical and Genealogical

Register, 1859, Vol. XIII, S. G. Drake,

Boston, Mass., Publisher.

"Mr. Elisha Mason, Litchfield, Conn., June 1st.
in the 100th. year of his age. He was born in
Litchfield, April 24, 1759, and at the time of his
decease was the last of the Revolutionary Pension-
ers in his native town. Not long since he stated to

20 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

the writer of this paragraph, that on being dis-
charged from the public service, at or near the High-
lands on the Hudson, he was paid oft' in Continental
money and started for home on foot.

Reaching Danbury at evening, he remained there
over night and in the morning tendered his money
in payment for his bill, which was refused. He
finally offered the landlord $40 for his keeping
which was rejected, and as a last resort he pawned
his rifle in payment of the debt. In this way were
the thousands of the soldiers of the Revolution re-
warded for their services.

Mr. Mason married Lucretia Webster, a descend-
ant of Gov. John Webster, January 8, 1785, with
whom he lived sixty-eight years. She died
in 1853. They were the parents of twelve children,
six of whom survive them. One of them, Rev.
Stephen Mason, graduated at Williams College and
was for several years pastor of the Congregational
Church in Washington, Conn., and is now a resi-
dent of Marshall, Mich.

The late E. P. Mason was one of the most re-
markable astronomers and mathematicians of the
age, whose memoirs were published by Prof. Olm-
sted of Yale College. He was the son of Rev. Ste-
phen Mason and grandson of the subject of this
sketch.

Mr. Mason, the centenarian, was a highly esteem-
ed citizen — a member of the First Cong. Church in
Litchfield and held responsible offices in the town. He
was a son of Joseph, Jr., and grandson of Joseph
Mason, an original proprietor of Litchfield in 1720.
Mrs. Mary Mason (grandmother) died in 1787 in
her 95th. year."

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 21

The grandsons who enjoyed daily companionship
with the old Revolutionary for many years, often
heard him relate many incidents of army life. Among
these was the story of his trip to Danbury from
Litchfield, in the night, when the "alarum" was
sounded to rally all loyal Americans, to rush to
repel the expedition of Gov. Tryon to destroy the
depot of military supplies at Danbury, Conn. He
was home on furlough, but went with the rest, so
find the churches and storehouses consumed, and
the gutters running with melted pork and abandon-
ed grog, while the invaders were running also, hot-
ly pursued by the heroic Wooster, and his yoemen
from the nearby towns. Again, as his brother
Joseph, (also a soldier), was with him in the early
morning at West Point, they saw a solitary horse-
man (riding in from the Eastern hills and alighting
at the ferry), take a "boat to cross the river near
where they stood. It was Washington, and bidding
the boatman "to remain, as he would be back in a
few minutes" he strode up the hill and immediately
returned across the river to join Lafayette and his
staff, who, en route from Hartford, via Litchfield
the day before, had followed their chief, and all
now proceeded to Arnold's headquarters near the
river below. But the wretch had fled. He had sent
the garrison to the mountains for timber to repair
the works which were in confusion, practically dis-
mantled, and ready for delivery to the enemy. The
excitement was intense, but the recovery speedy. No
incidents of the Civil War whether witnessed in the
field or read in history, ever seemed more real than
this portrayal of the events of that day, by this old
veteran, to the boys around him.

22 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

This man passed over the days of the years of a
century, lacking about 9 months, — three generations
of average human life, — in a critical period of our
national existence. He was a law-abiding citizen, a
man for whom the Sabbath-day had its opportuni-
ties, and its obligations, which might not be com-
promised. He loved the church and its ordinances
and he maintained an altar in his own home.

Of his eight sons and daughters, who were heads
of families, four went forth into the wilderness, to
become factors in the development of homes, settle-
ments, schools and churches, and in a degree to con-
tribute to the growth and glory of the Great North-
west.

But wherever the descendants of Elisha Mason
may have wandered, the memory of a good man
follows, who having served well his day and gen-
eration, in the ripeness and fullness of years, long
since passed away.

Death of Elisha Mason

The Last Revolutionary Soldier in Litchfield County.

Copied from the Litchfield Enquirer of June 3rd,
1858.

"Just as we are putting our paper to press, we
learn that our esteemed fellow citizen, Mr. Elisha
Mason, died at the residence of his son-in-law, Jon-
athan Carrington, in this village on Tuesday even-
ing at seven o'clock. Mr. Mason was the last sur-
viving Revolutionary Soldier in this town, and, so
far as we can learn, in the county of Litchfield.
He was born in this town on the 24th of April, 1759,
and was consequently in his 100th year.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 23

"His history is an exceedingly interesting one, but
we must defer until next week a proper notice of
his services and character. He was a sincere Chris-
tian, and when he had forgotten all other friends,
was cheered at the mention of the name of his
Saviour.

"Mr. Mason's funeral will be held at the Congre-
gational Church on Friday at 10:00 o'clock, and
will doubtless bring together a large concourse from
this and neighboring towns.

"Rev. D. L. Parmelee will deliver an address on
the occasion.

"The members of the Masonic fraternity are re-
quested to meet in their hall at 9:00 o'clock on Fri-
day morning, to make arrangements to attend the
funeral."

Copied from the Litchfield Enquirer of June 10th,
1858.

"The funeral of the venerable Elisha Mason
whose death we noticed last week, took place at the
Congregational Church on Friday. The services
were very interesting and impressive. An admir-
ably arranged sermon was preached by Rev. D. L.
Parmelee, and the other exercises were conducted
by Rev. L. W. Bacon, the Pastor of the church. We
had hoped for a sketch of the life and services of
the deceased for publication in this week's Enquirer,
from one who had long known him, but have re-
ceived none.

"Mr. Mason was born on Chestnut Hill, two miles
from this village, on the 24th of April, 1759, and
until within a few years past, has lived on the home-
stead of his father, now the inheritance and home

24 MASON-WEBSTEU LINEAGE

of his descendants of three generations. He arrived
at years of manhood during the struggle for in-
dependence, and was employed during the war in
the construction of forts, bridges, etc. for the army.
He has directly or indirectly voted at every Presi-
dential election since the organization of the gov-
ernment, and has lived to see the nation extended
from its original dimensions on the Atlantic coast,
to its present expansion from ocean to ocean.

"In private life, Mr. Mason was a model for all
who knew him, and we believe it may be said with
truth that he never had an enemy. He made pro-
fession of religion when a young man, and ever
maintained an exemplary Christian life."

Lucretia Webster, Wife of Elisha Mason and
grand-daughter of Benjamin AA7ebster, one of the
fifty-seven original settlers of Litchfield, himself
grandson of John Webster the fifth Governor of
Connecticut Colony, was a type of the women of
New England who could do, or cause to be done,
whatever needed to be done, regardless of "lions in
the way." Only those who became pioneers, or the
children of such, can comprehend the meaning of
the word. Nothing could better develop the mas-
terful traits of character than did life in the home
of the early years in New England, when food,
clothing and all else must be home-raised and home-
made, with no suspicion of a day when the forces
of nature would spin, weave, sew and do house-
work, never resting, save when knitting hose and
mittens as the hours flew by.

The wool upon the backs of sheep and the flax
growing in the field were to furnish the material

LUCRETIA WEBSTER MASON

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 25

for winter clothing, all to be beaten, carded, spun,
woven and made, at the home. The wonder is that
they did it — these mothers of ours — with attending
cares and inconveniences.

No bakery but the open chimney or Dutch oven!
No creamery save the home-made devices for the
hardest work ! And yet it was done ! No doubt
that ours of today is indeed, the more excellent way.

None would return to the olden time, and method
of doing things. But we should all the more sin-
cerely honor and cherish the memory of those, who
for us, endured, wrought, suffered and triumphed
here, before entering into the "Rest that remain-
eth," beyond. Such an one was this maiden of the
Revolution whose force of character and matronly
example have passed, by inheritance, into many
homes and left a blessed memory in many hearts.

The later years of this good woman were serene,
restful, expectant. She attained to four-score and
seven, lacking three days. The average age of
her six longest surviving children was 86 years.,
6 months and 12 days.

26 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

H^mtftattis

Cynthia Mason (5), Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Joseph 2,
John 1; b. July 24, 1786, in Litchfield, Conn.; m. Jan.
15, 1810, Isaac Turner who died; m. April 18, 1838,
Jonathan Carrington; d. Jan. 12, 1871 in Litchfield,
Conn.

Children, all by first marriage, born in Northfield, Conn.

1. Lucretia Mason Turner (6), b. April 8, 1811. 15.

2. Phebe Hopkins Turner (6), b. March 12, 1813. 10.

3. Cynthia Turner (6), b. Sept. 20, 1815. 17.

4. Maria Turner (6), b. Dec. 25, 1817. 18.

5. Elisha Mason Turner (6), b. June 18, 1822. 10.

6. John Pierpont Camp Turner (6), b. Feb. 26, 1826.

19.

Of Cynthia (Mason) Turner-Carrington (5) it is
not possible (to give such notice as her prominence in
the family demands. Her children are all dead and
only incomplete memories of long ago can now oe
summoned to tell the story. In her father's house
from early childhood her position was one of great
responsibility and helpfulness. Afterwards, in her
own home she filled her place with abundant suc-
cess to the end of her useful life. The Turner home
was in Northfield parish, in the township of Litch-
field and about four miles from the Town Center.
From thence the family removed to New York City,
where the husband, Mr. Turner died. He was brought
back and buried in Northfield, where he was born.
Of the years following nothing is known — except
that several years after Mr. Turner's death the fam-
ily returned to Litchfield. Here Mrs. Turner mar-

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 27

ried Jonathan Carrington. From this event and for
over thirty years following, the memory of the
writer of this sketch (Geo. W. Mason) is perfectly
clear as to what is here written. At fifty years of
age, Mrs. Carrington was a lady of dignified mien
and winning ways. Her housekeeping— no doubt
inherited — cannot now be described better than ]+
was in the days of King Lemuel. As a consistent
member of the Congregational Church in Litchfield,
where she attended divine worship until advancing
years prevented; as a doer of good deeds and a dis-
penser of charity ; as a true daughter in her devotion
and service to her parents in their long pilgrimage ;
as a mother training her children into lives of use-
fulness and right action ; — in these all are seen her no-
ble character and worthy life. She was pre-eminently
our first "Daughter of the American Revolution."

6.

Rev. Stephen Mason (5), Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Joseph
2, John 1; b. May 31, 1788 in Litchfield, Conn.; m.
1816, Betsey Burr who died March 20, 1822; m. May
1, 1823, Phebe Sheldon Tallmadge, who died Sept. 28,
1839. She was born April 7, 1790; d. Nov. 8, 1870,
in Marshall, Mich., in his 82d year.

Children.

1. Ebenezer Porter (6), b. Dec. 7, 1819, in Washington.
Conn.; d. Dec. 26, 1840. 21.

2. David Burr (6), b. June 4, 1820; d. Dec. 9, 1843.

3. Laura Tallmadge, (6), b. Sept. 21, 1824, in Wash-
ington, Conn. 22.

Rev. Stephen Mason (5), spent his early life in
beautiful Litchfield on the old homestead two miles
southeast of Litchfield Center. At that time he had

28 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

the privilege of listening to the eloquent Dr. Lyman
Beecher, then pastor of Litchfield Church, under
whose ministry he entered the church fold and be-
gan preparation for his chosen work. His character
and ability were such that, with another young man,
he was chosen by the church, and by it, assisted to
prepare for the ministry. He spent four years in
Williams College, then entered Andover Theologi-
cal Seminary from which he graduated in 1815. The
year following he spent in home missionary work
in Ohio and Kentucky. Upon his return to Litch-
field he received a call to the Congregational Church
at "Washington, Conn. There he labored with suc-
cess for twelve years. He was in his younger days
a protege of Dr. Lyman Beecher and throughout his
long life never wearied of relating incidents of his
association with this celebrated Litchfield divine.
He was married in the Beecher home to Miss Eliza-
beth Burr from Virginia, an adopted daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Beecher. She died much lamented
and two years later he married Miss Tallmadge, a
very superior woman, in every way fitted to be
mother to the orphans, and a minister's wife.

About this time the first temperance movement
reached Washington, Conn., and Rev. Mr. Mason
became its strong advocate and zealous supporter.
It had been the custom for ministers and church
members to partake moderately of intoxicating
liquors. The advanced views and higher standards
of Mr. Mason on this question made it expedient
for him to seek a new field. Accordingly he re-
moved with his family to the Island Nantucket in
1827. A temperance address delivered by him be-

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 29

fore the Nantucket Association was printed for gen-
eral distribution. In the five years he remained in
Nantucket he succeeded in building the edifice now
in use as the First Congregational Church. At that
time Nantucket was enjoying her most prosperous
days and claimed a population of ten thousand. His
arduous labors were more than his health could
bear in that severe climate. Therefore he left the
island, with great reluctance, bearing with him the
love of his people and many tokens of their kind-
ness and good will. Nor did they forget him
though absent, for in subsequent years he received
from them many affectionate remembrances and
valued gifts. After supplying the pulpit at Collins-
ville, Connecticut for a year he settled in Goshen,
Massachusetts, in order to have his daughter edu-
cated in the school at Northampton, which was near.
Later he removed to Michigan, hoping a change of
climate would benefit his health. His brother Ed-
win was already there, having removed thither in
1832. He decided to settle in Marshall as it was a
prospective college town. Here, on what was then
the frontier he purchased a farm for the benefit of
his sons. As one of the early settlers of Michigan
he knew much of the hardships of pioneer life. He
began supplying the pulpit at Marshall in Decem-
ber, 1837, and continued one year. He preached at
Eckford and Clarendon five years. Then on account
of failing health and throat trouble contracted at
Nantucket, he retired from active ministerial duties,
never again to resume them. Two years after his
settlement in Marshall his wife died. The following
year he was again grievously afflicted by the death

3 0 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

of his son, Ebenezer Porter Mason, at the early age
of twenty-one. Although so young he had already
shown remarkable ability and must have filled his
father's heart with pride. This crushing blow was
soon followed by the death, (December 29, 1843),
of the only remaining son David Burr Mason. Truly
this good man's sorrows were many and heavy. The
last twenty-one years of his life were spent in the
home of his daughter Laura, wife of Mr. Henry C.
Haskell. His time was abundantly employed in
reading, in horticulture, in directing the work of
his farm, and in assisting his daughter to train and
educate her six sons. To him the younger ministers
came for social intercourse and for his ready sym-
pathy and advice. To the end of life he cherished
the religious views taught him at Andover, which
represented the New England theology of that day.
He was grieved at every evidence of more liberal
thought. It was to him a sign of weakened ortho-
doxy. Three years before his death he was stricken
with paralysis. Previous to this he had enjoyed a
green old age, free from care and responsibility and
full of the pleasant memories of a well spent life.
Thus he waited for the end to come. Those who
knew him say that in personal appearance he was
attractive, his bearing self-possessed and dignified,
His tall figure was never bent, eA^en when heavy with
the weight of years. To the end he received the re-
spect and veneration of the entire community and
the love and reverence of his kindred. (Mrs. M. C.
Howe.)

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 31

Lucretia Mason (5), Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Joseph 2,
John 1; b. Nov. 1, 1790 in Litchfield, Conn.; m. Jan.
1810, Guy Webster who died Aug. 13, 1853; d. Dec.
28, 1874, in Ionia, Mich.

Children.

1. Cynthia Mason Webster, (o,, b. July 11, 1811; d.
Aug. 12, 1812.

2. C. Louisa Webster (6), b. July 6, 1813, in Han-
over, N. Y.; d. Dec. 17, 1905 at E. Aurora, N. Y. 23.

3. Caroline Webster (6), b. Sept. 25, 1815, in Han-
over, N. Y.; d. May 10, 1842, Logan County, Ohio. 24.

4. Marcia Webster (6), b. Aug. 14, 1S17; d. Oct. 6,
1818.

5. Marcia Webster (6), b. Sept. 15, 1819, in Hanover,
N. Y.; d. at Lake Odessa, Mich., Dec. 22, 1902. 25.

6. Betsey B. Webster (6), b. Feb. 28, 1822; d. June
26, 1846. No children.

7. Lucretia Webster (6), b. April 5, 1825 in Hanover
or Boston, N. Y.; d. Nov. 24, 1884. 26.

8. Eusebia Webster, (6), b. April 25, 1827; d. Dec. 22,
1827.

9. William Webster (6), b. Oct. 1, 1828; d. April 30,
1829.

10. Eusebia Webster (6), b. May 9, 1830; d. Oct. 22,
1830.

11. Guy Webster (6), b. Sept. 21, 1831, at Concord,
New York.; d. at Ionia, Mich., July 19, 1865. 27.

12. Elisha Mason Webster (6), b. June 2, 1834; d.
May 21, 1839.

Lucretia Mason (5), after her marriage in Litch-
field, Connecticut, first settled in Hanover (then
Boston), N. Y. Thence the family removed to Cen-
tral Michigan, to the timbered country, then opened,
but sparsely settled. The log-cabin came immediate-
ly, but the trials and hardships of most pioneer

32 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

settlements followed and continued long. Mean-
while this log-cabin — and the farm house which
followed it — became the center of religious and mis-
sionary influence for many miles around, and the
wife and mother was practically shepherd and
pastor of the flock. Were any sick, destitute, dy-
ing or bereaved :and needing aid and consolation —
were any needing Christian burial — who so well
as she could give the needed help, speak the sym-
pathetic word, or perform the solemn ministrations!
The front room of the "new house," like its pre-
decessor the log-cabin, was used for public wor-
ship. In it was organized the first church of Ionia,
Michigan. The kitchen was used as a justice ?s
court room. Thus in this house was laid the founda-
tions of society in Central Michigan, of material
transported from the sterile soil of Chestnut Hill
in Old Litchfield, Connecticut. "When the war of
1812 broke out Mr. Webster joined our forces at
Buffalo, leaving his family in a log-cabin of his own
making at Hanover, about half a mile from the trail
of an Indian tribe, not knowing whether they would
remain neutral or join the enemy. Outside the
cabin was a grindstone at which the Indians would
grind their knives and tomahawks. One day sever-
al of them came into the cabin and wanted flour.
Mrs. Webster, thinking it unwise to refuse, climbed
into the loft where the flour was kept. Hearing
the ladder creak she looked over her shoulder and
saw a big Indian towering over her and motioning
with his hands saying "More! More!" Down came
the lid of the chest and he was sternly ordered to
descend the ladder or he would get no flour at all.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 33

The other Indians laughed and chaffed him about
his discomfiture, much as white men would do. Of
Mrs. "Webster one of the present generation (Mrs.
Alice Rickey Colwell) writes: "Notwithstanding
her pioneer life, Grandmother Webster retained a
refinement of manners which made her a cherished
friend and honored guest of the best people In
Ionia City all her life."

8.

Caroline Mason (6), Elista 4, Joseph 3, Joseph 2,
John 1; b. Dec. 22, 1792, in Litchfield, Conn.; m. Nov.
1, 1821, John A. Oviatt, who died Aug. 21, 1879; d.
March 13, 1836.

Children.

1. Elizabeth Mason Oviatt (6), b. Oct. 25, 1823, in
Washington, Conn. 28.

2. Harriett Oviatt (6), b. July 27, 1826, in Washington,
Conn. 29.

3. Joshua Newell Oviatt (6), b. Oct. 27, 1832, in Wash-
ington, Conn. 30.

Caroline Mason (5), was the youngest of Elisha

Mason's three daughters. She was for several years

teacher in the public schools of Litchfield.

While visiting her brother, Rev. Stephen Mason,
pastor of the Congregational Church in Washing-
ton, Connecticut, she made the acquaintance of Mr.
John A. Oviatt,. afterwards widely known as Dea-
con Oviatt, whom she subsequently married. They
made their home in one of the valleys of that quaint
and historic old town, among a people of intelligence
and sterling qualities. In her girlhood Mrs. Oviatt

3 4 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

became a member of the church in her native town,
which had for pastor Rev. Dr. Lyman Beecher. Her
amiability and conscientious life made her beloved
by a large circle of friends in both communities. A
suitable headstone marks her burial place in the
East Cemetery at Washington, Connecticut.

9.

Elisha Mason (5), Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Joseph 2,
John 1; b. June 5, 1795, in Litchfield, Conn.; d. June
10, 1817, in New Bedford, Mass. Not married.

Elisha Mason (5), was born into a work-a-day
world, at a time when boys and girls began early
to prepare for the life before them. Then hand-
work was almost the only way to be useful and to
make a living. He learned the tailor's trade, and
when that was accomplished, he went forth and set-
tled in New Bedford. There, at the age of twenty-
two years he was stricken with "a malignant
fever" and hurried into another world. Little i??
known of him and that little is only the faint recol-
lection of what was said years ago. He was doubt-
less buried in New Bedford.

10.

Elijah Mason (5), Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Joseph 2,
John 1; b. May 24, 1799, in Litchfield, Conn.; m. 1824,
Susan D. Newell, b. Dec. 25, 1806, who died Feb. 8, 1851;
d. July 3, 1857, in Richland, Mich.

Children, born in Ohio.

1. Elisha (6), b. June 4, 1826. 31.

2. Cynthia Adaline (6), b. abt. 1828. 32.

1131979

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 35

a. Elijah F. (6), b. Feb. 2, 1830; June 8, 1890. 33.

4. Guy Newell (6), b. Jan. 1, 1832; d. Jan. 1, 1850.

5. Demila Adelaide (6), b. May 14, 1834. 34.

6. Bruce (6), b. Feb. 14, 1837; d. July 10, 1903.

Elijah Mason (5), was by trade a carpenter. Work-
ing at his trade, he drifted westward to the "New
Connecticut" region — the pioneer of the family. He
married and settled in Cleveland, Ohio where two
or three of his children were born. Later and with-
in the recollection of the writer he lived in Elyria,
Ohio. From thence letters came to Connecticut de-
scribing the desolation caused by the fever and ague
of that place. This was the main reason for his re-
moval to Oberlin, Ohio. Even at that time this
growing town and the Seminary gave promise of
the city and the College that were to be. Here hi
found abundant and permanent employment as a
builder. Here his business life was spent, until his
sight was impaired and finally lost. He made fre-
quent visits to Connecticut in the years before and
after the death of his wife. In these visits he man-
ifested a cheerfulness and resignation under his
disability and misfortune which were most admir-
able. His last years were spent with his younger
brother Edwin in Richland, Michigan where he died.
Of his children, widely scattered, it is believed that
full reports are at last gathered, except the possi-
ble descendants of his oldest daughter's children
This daughter's descendants, if any exist, are proo-
ably in the Southern States.

11.

Joseph William Mason (5), Elisha 4, Joseph i,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. Ma,y 6, 1801, in Litchfield, Conn.;

36 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

m. June 11, 1828, Lucy W. Grossman; b. July 17,

1809, who died Sept. 14, 1839; m. 1840, Lucretia 8.
Partree who died May 15, 1877; d. April 6, 1886, in
Morris Conn.

Children, all born in Morris, Conn.

1. Cornelia (6), b. Jan. 27, 1830; d. Dec. 15, 1832.

2. Joshua (6), b. Dec. 5, 1831; d. Sept. 2. 1858. 35.

3. Henrietta Grossman (6), b. March 17, 1834.

4. Frederick James (6), b. March 25, 1836; d. Oct. 30,
1838.

5. Edward Franklin (6), b. Aug. 5, 1838; d. Jan. 14,
1839.

«. Eloise M. (6), b. Aug 8, 1841; d. Oct. 29, 1904. 36.

Joseph William Mason (5), learned the tailor's
trade in Litchfield, after which he found employ-
ment in New Haven County for a considerable
period. Then his employer made contracts, to fill
which he sent young Mason to Greenville, Georgia
for a term of years. Letters sent to his parents
while there, and now in possession of the writer,
reflect credit upon the head and heart of the absent
son. Returning home he married and settled for
life in South Farms, now Morris, Connecticut. Here
for three score years and more, his record is written
in the annals of the church and community. He
plied his trade for many years and had a large pa-
tronage, but as years advanced his health demanded
out-door employment. So he bought land and be-
came quite a farmer. He passed a serene old age —
in anticipation of the "joy that was set before
him."

12.

Edwin Mason (5), Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Joseph 2
John 1; b. Aug. 17, 1803, in Litchfield, Conn.; m. Dec.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 3 7

13, 1826, Clarissa Johnson who died Oct. 13, 1890; d.
Feb. 21, 1901.

Children, in Litchfield, Conn., and Richland, Mich.

1. Maria (6), b.'Oct. 29, 1827, in Litchfield, Conn. 37.

2. Cornelius (6), b. Sept. 29, 1829, in Litchfield, Conn.

38.

3. Laura T. (6), b.' July 11, 1832, in Litchfield, Conn.

39.

4. Stephen (6), b. Oct. 22, 1834; d. July 22, 1835, in
Richland, Mich.

5. Henry (6), b. Oct. 26, 1836; d. Feb. 27, 1839, In
Richland, Mich.

6. Edwin (6), b. Feb. 11, 1839; d. Feb. 25, 1839, 1n
Richland, Mich.

7. Betsy Ann (6), b. Dec. 28, 1841; in Richland, Mich.

40.

8. Cornelia C. (6), b. Dec. 26, 1846; in Richland, Mich.

41.

Edwin Mason (5), went to Richland, Kalamazoo
County, Michigan in the Spring of 1832, took up
160 acres of government land, built a log house, and
returned to Litchfield, Connecticut, after his family
in September of the same year. They journeyed to
Albany in a covered wagon drawn by horses. There
were in the party the pioneer, his wife (with her
brother), and the children that had then been born,
the youngest being six weeks old. In Albany the
team and wagon were sold, as the party was to be
transported to Buffalo on the Erie canal, and thence
by boat on the lake to Detroit. In Detroit a team
of oxen and covered wagon were bought and the
cedar chests, full of goods, loaded for their destina-
tion. The mother sitting in her rocking-chair cared
for the baby and the children as they journeyed
across Michigan. This they called "The Horn
Line." "When there were no taverns they slept in

3 8 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

the wagon. It took three weeks to get to their new
home from Litchfield. It took ten days from De-
troit, about 150 miles distant. The furniture in the
log cabin was primitive ; the chairs and table being
made of slabs. Bedsteads were made by boring
holes in the logs of the wall and inserting a stick,
the other end of which rested in a crotch set up out
in the room. Two of these set a bed's length apart
and connected with poles or slabs, made a good sup-
port for the marsh-hay bed. The cooking was done
over the open fire. The Indians were friendly and
taught the one boy pioneer to fish and hunt, being
his only playmates. The father was an expert fish-
erman and hunter and frequently in this way pro-
vided much needed supplies. They had plenty of
land, but little money; and they soon had a saw-
mill. But Mrs. Mason often said that she would
gladly leave it all, if they could go back to Connec-
ticut to start anew there. In the fall of 1832 these
pioneers helped organize a church in their log cabin.
There the meetings were held, alternating with other
homes in the settlement. In this church Mr. Mason
was for forty years an active deacon, and an honored
member to the end of life. He helped to build two
churches in Richland, and lived to see this wilder-
ness converted into beautiful fields and dotted with
homes. When he went to Michigan, Kalamazoo
was a French trading post with only two houses.
He lived to see it a city of 25,000 inhabitants. In
1833 all able bodied men were, for a short time,
called into service against Black Hawk and his war-
riors. Of these Mr. Mason was one. He was pres-
ent on the arrival of the first train on the Michigan

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 3 9

Central Railway, an event never to be forgotten. Ln
his last days he often spoke of the wonderful
changes wrought as the years flew by. Deacon Mason
was a Republican from the first. His last ballot was
cast for William McKinley when a candidate for the
Presidency. He went to his rest full of years. The
example and influence for good of such men cannot
be estimated. No tribute to his worth is needed by
those who knew him. (By his j^oungest daughter.)

13.

Benjamin Webster Mason (5), Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. May 25, 1806, in Litchfield, Conn.;
m. April 17, 1832, Susan Ford who was horn Aug. 22,
1808 and died Oct. 20, 1869; d. Jan. 16, 1888.

Children, born in Litchfield, Conn.

1. George William (6), b. Feb. 24, 1833. 42.

2. Charles Herbert (6), b. April 7, 1835. 43.

3. Ebenezer Porter (6), b. July 13, 1841. 44.

4. Dav-d Burr (6), b. Aug. 6, 1843; d. Aug. 30, 1850.

5. Edward Benjamin (6), b. May 4, 1846. 15.

Benjamin Webster Mason (5) , was evidently named
for his mother's ancestor, Benjamin Webster, who
came hither from Hartford and settled in Litchfield
in 1720. He and Joseph Mason, Sr., had their home-
steads on opposite sides of what is now Chestnut
Hill Street, and for most of the time to the present
the two families of Webster and Mason have occu-
pied relatively the same position on the street. In-
termarriage was a very natural result, — and then also
the name of Benjamin Webster Mason. In 'boyhood
Benjamin (5) was placed in the family of his brother
Rev. Stephen Mason, then pastor of the Congrega-

40 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

tional Church in Washington, Conn. Here he re-
mained several years. He then learned the shoe-
maker's trade which he followed in Washington and
Litchfield until middle life. When, in 1832, the
elder brother Edwin Mason went to Michigan, it was
arranged that Benjamin should succeed him in the
care of their aged parents. So after his marriage
in Washington, Conn., he removed to Litchfield and
settled for life on the old homestead at lower Chest-
nut Hill; it being the identical land which Joseph
Mason, the pioneer, deeded in 1748 to his son Joseph,
Jr., in consideration of his "love and affection," etc.,
and which has remained in the family to the present
time (1908). Here Joseph Mason, Jr., lived and
died. Here his son Elisha Mason lived about 90
years. It was the home of Benjamin W. Mason and
the birthplace of his children. He died in posses-
sion of it, although after the death of his wife, he
lived with his sons. No man ever clung more fondly
to the home of his ancestors with its precious mem-
ories and hallowed associations. He was a man of
ardent temperament, of strong and generous im-
pulses, industrious to a fault, very thorough and ef-
ficient in all that he did. On the Sabbath he would
not work nor allow his boys to play ball or go fish-
ing. He was a faithful member of the Litchfield
Congregational Church. To him the Golden Rule
was the sum of practical religion. In his boy-
hood, by the turning of the saddle on a horse he was
riding, he was thrown and dragged by the stirrup
until unconscious. From this accident he never ful-
ly recovered. In later life ait intervals, it caused
him much suffering, which he bore with christian

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 41

fortitude. Of all the children of Elisha Mason,
he is the only one laid beside his parents in the old
cemetery at Litchfield.

14.

Joshua Mason (6), Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Joseph 2, John
1; b. Eeb. 18, 1809, in Litchfield, Conn.; d. Jan.
18, 1832, in Dartmouth, Mass., not married.

Joshua Mason (5), youngest son of Elisha and
Lucretia Mason, has a record much like that of his
brother Elisha. What induced him to take up his
abode in Dartmouth, Mass., is not known. His
brother, Rev. Stephen Mason, had spent several
years in Nantucket and his brother, Elisha Mason,
had lived, died and was buried in New Bedford
several years before. Perhaps these things had
something to do with Joshua's residence in Dart-
mouth, a near-by town. Here he fell a victim to
some internal disease, probably appendicitis. A
headstone in Dartmouth cemetery marks his last
resting place. There he sleeps apart from his kindred
and far distant from any of his nine adult brothers
and sisters.

"They grew in beauty side by side,

"They filled oris home with glee;
"Their graves are sever'd far and wide,

"By mount and stream and sea."

— Mrs. Hemans.

15.

Lucretia Mason Turner ^6), Cynthia 5, Elisha 4,
Joseph 3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. April 8, 1811, in North-
field, Conn.; m. April 7, 1830, George Myron Kasson,
b. May 19, 1803; d. May 13, 1893; d. July 9, 1887.

42 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Children.

1. Lucy Margaret Kasson (7), b. Feb. 24, 1832. 48.

2. Eleanor Maria Kasson (7), b. Aug. 5, 1834. -17

3. George Dixon Kasson (7), b. Sept. 18, 1836; d.
April 18, 1837.

4. Deborah McCall Kasson (7), b. June 10, 1838. 48.

5. Gertrude Percy Kasson, b. Sept. 11, 1841.

6. Charlotte Elizabeth Kasson (7), b. Feb. 4, 1844.
d. Jan. 14, 1857.

7. Ralph Wilbur Kasson (7) b. Jan. 21. 184S. 40.

8. Elizabeth Hull Kasson (7), b. July 4, 1850. 50.

9. William Turner Kasson (7), b. Feb. 20, 1854.

Lucretia Mason Turner (6), spent her early life
in Northfield, Conn. Later she lived in South
Farms, now Morris, Conn. She had a common school
education and commenced teaching when quite
young. She was always a successful teacher. Her
husband was a farmer and after marriage she passed
the rest of her life with him in the town of Beth-
lehem, Conn. She was a woman of strong character
and good executive ability, and was ever ready to
help the sick and the needy. She was hospitable
and had a cordial welcome for those who sought
her at home. The Congregational Church had in
her a consistent member and a regular attendant.
As the eldest of four sisters, the like of whom is
not easily found in rural life, (or any other) in a
single family, Mrs. Kasson, as did the others, stood
an example of Christian faith and practice in the
community where each lived so long.

16.

Phebe Hopkins Turner (6), Cynthia 5, Elisha 4, Jos-
ephs, Joseph 2, John 1; b. March 12, 1813, in Northfield,
m. May 11, 1836. Preston b. Hollister; b. Dec. 11,
1808; d. Sept. 20, 1888; d. Feb 14. 1895.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 43

Children.

1. Fitzgreen Hollister (7), b. April 17, 1837; d. June
15, 1864. 52.

2. Walter Hollister (7), b. Dec. 10, 1838; d. June
19, 1843;

3. Clarence Hollister (7), b. June 18, 1841, d. Dec.
22, 1859.

4 Arthur Hollister (7), b. Oct. 3, 184 6; d. Aug. 13,
1903; m. Oct. 20, 1875; Addie Hollister, who was
born Oct. 29, 1853.

Phebe Hopkins (Turner) Hollister spent her early
life in Northfield, Conn. She became a teacher.
Her first school was in Washington, Conn., and
one of her first pupils was Hon. Orville H. Piatt,
United States senator from Connecticut, for about
24 years. In her East Street school she became
acquainted with Preston S. Hollister, to whom in
later years she was married. The marriage took
place at the home of her parents in New York City
but she with her husband returned to East Street,
where in a new house which had been built for
them, near the school house, she passed her life.
The above record shows that all her children disd
early. Probably the greatest trial of her life was
the going fourth of her eldest son as a soldier, and
his return silent in death. In her last letter to
him .the mother wrote. "He is able to preserve you
but it may be His plan that your earthly career
be early finished." The letter never reached him.
Months after his burial the letter came back to
its writer. Mrs. Hollister was a typical New En-
gland character, self-cultured and self-reliant,
religious and full of good works. The widow of

44 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

her youngest son, Arthur is the sole living represen-
tative of the family. To her we are indebted for
most of the materials for this sketch.

17.

Cynthia Turner (6), Cynthia 5, Elisha 4, Joseph Z,
Joseph 2, John 1, b. ^ppt 20, 1815, in Litchfield, Conn.;
m. Jan. 28, 1841, L"ona-d Pierpont, of Morris Conn; b.
Aug. 28, 1819; d. April 10, 1874; d. Jan. 18, 1905.

Children.

1. Leonard Pierpont (7), b. May 15, 1842; d. July 16,
1865, "in the Service." 53.

2. Walter Pierpont (7), b. Sept. 9, 1843; d. June 1,
1864, "in the Service." 54.

3. Sherman Edward Pierpont (7), b. Nov. 22, 1844; d.
April 9, 1865, "in the Service." 55.

4. J. Newton Pierpont (7), b. Feb. 6, 1847. 56.

5. Mary Hooker Pierpont (7), b. March 30, 1849. 57.

6. Lucy Pierpont (7), b. Jan. 20, 1853. 58.

7. James Pierpont (7), b. Oct. 22, 1855. 59.

8. John Pierpont (7), b. Oct. 22, 1855. 60.

Cynthia (Turner) Pierpont (6), with her husband
aad family removed from East Morris to Ford County
Illinois, in 1858. They settled on a farm near Gib-
son City. Her daughter-in-law, Mrs. J. Newton
Pierpont of New Haven, Conn., writes: — "When as
a daughter, I came into the family circle I soon
learned to love her as a true mother, for such she
always was to me. In sickness and death she was
a Avatcher and sympathizer with the afflicted. In
those first years out on the frontier she had abun-
dant opportunity to show her kindly attentions, as
she many times sheltered tired and lonely travelers
across the prairie." Her children are all living

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 45

except the eldest three. These were soldiers in
the Civil War and gave their lives to their country.
Their record is an honor to the mouther who bore
them. Truly her life was not a failure.

18.

Maria Turner (6), Cynthia 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Jos-
eph 2, John 1; b. December 25, 1817, in Northfield,
Conn.; m. Oct. 30, 1845, John Humphrey; b. Jan. 18,
1801, d. July 14, 1854; d. April 22, 1899, in Preston
City, Conn.

Children, born in Norfolk, Conn.

1. Mary Humphrey (7), b. Sept. 8, 1846. 64.

2. Robert Phelps Humphrey (7), b. March 28, 1851. 65.

3. John Humphrey (7), b. July 2, 1853. 66.

Maria Turner Humphrey (6), when about twelve
years old, removed with her father's family to New
York City and resided there for several years. After
the father's death the family returned to Litchfield,
Conn. Although her early education was limited yet
by improving all opportunities she fitted herself to
be a teacher and she taught several successful terms
in the town. "While there she was a member of
the Congregational church choir. She had a fine
voice for singing which she retained most of her
life. Her husband's home was in Norfolk, Conn.,
where she resided until his death, — which was very
sudden. The year following she removed to Bethle-
hem, Conn. Here she remained until 1879. She
then removed to Marietta, Ohio, where one of her
sons was in business. There her daughter married

4 6 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

but returned to Conn., living a few years in North
Madison and then settled in Preston City, Conn.
Mrs. Humphrey followed and made her home with
her daughter during her last years. (By her niece.)

19.

Klisha Mason Turner (6), Cynthia 5, Elisha 4, Joseph

3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. June 18, 1822, in Northfield,
Conn.; m. Jan. 9, 1854, Laura Jane Vanhorn; b. Sept.

4, 1830; d. Feb. 8, 1907; d. May 13, 1902.

Children.

1. Clarence Elisha Turner (7), b.March 18, 1855, at
West Stockbridge, Mass.

2. William Jay Turner (7), b. May 21, 1862; d. Oct.
3, 1891. 61.

3. Arthur Preston Turner (7), b. June 14, 1872, at
Salisbury, Conn.; d. at St. Cloud Fla., Feb. 28, 1910.

Elisha Mason Turner (6), the eldest grandson
of Elisha Mason (4) who lived to middle life, seemed
to resemble the grandfather more than did any
other son or grandson. He much resembled him
whose name he bore in stature, features and general
bearing ; also in traits of character, cheerfulness, and
sunny ways of greeting friends. He also practiced
the same vocation with equal skill and diligence
winning the confidence and respect of all. After
wandering a few years early in life, largely at sea, he
returned to establish and maintain a home in New
England for nearly fifty years, until the end of life.

20.
John Pierpont Camp Turner (6), Cynthia 5, Elisha 4,
Joseph 3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. Feb. 26, 1826, in North-
field, Conn.; m. Sept. 9, 1849, Cornelia A. Van Horn, b.
Aug. 6, 1832; d. Feb. 7, 1896; d. Jan 23, 1881.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 47

Children.

1. Eva Maria Turner (7), b. May 12, 1852, at Charles
City, Iowa.

2. Carrie Turner (7), b. July 8, 1858, at Winsted,
Conn. 63.

John Pierpont Camp Turner (6) early acquired
proficiency as a carpenter and builder. He soon
became a contractor and architect and was accus-
tomed to operations of considerable importance.
But these could wait; — the rebellion must be sup-
pressed. Accordingly he enlisted in the 7th N. Y.
A., and afterwards in the 113th N. Y. Vols., and
for a time served in the defenses about Washington.
Here the writer met him in the fall of 1862 and
found him chafing at the interminable delay. He had
been made Sergeant ; but desiring active service he
took examination for promotion to duty with the
U. S. C. T., where his experience before the war
served to make him efficient and prominent. He
was soon made Lieutenant and then First Lieuten-
ant. He was assigned to duty in the Department of
Florida ; and was later made Chief Engineer on the
Staff of Brigadier General Hatch. He was now in
his natural sphere. Railroads and bridges were to
be built, tracks to be laid as the army advanced, or
to be pulled up and destroyed on the retreat, —
with a fight on hand in either case. He did his work
well, and did what he could in laying the foundation
for our present peace and prosperity. No one had
more positive views than he, concerning the great
issues of the day, nor was anyone more resolute in
maintaining them. He was an earnest, whole-hearted,

48 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

conscientious man, of the kind that may always he
found "at the Front." After his discharge from
the army he resided in Albany, N. Y., where he died.

21.

Ebenezer Porter Mason (6), Stephen 5, Elisha 4, Jos-
eph 3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. Dec. 7, 1819, in Washington,
Conn.; d. Dec. 26, 1840, in Richmond, Va.; not mar-
ried.

Ebenezer Porter Mason was named in honor o;'
Rev. Ebenezer Porter, D. D., whom his father suc-
ceeded as minister of the Congregational Church in
Washington, Conn. He early manifested signs rjf
an unusually bright mind. His mother died when
he was three years of age, but in his step-mother he
found one who loved him dearly and cared for him
carefully, fully appreciating his budding talents.
From the age of eight years his education was
largely under the direction of his aunt, Mrs. Har-
riet B. Turner of Richmond, Va. In June, 1830, he
left Richmond for Nantucket where his father
was the settled minister. He here- entered the
Coffin School where he soon attracted attention by
his proficiency and his advancement beyond other
boys of his age. In 1832 he was sent by his father
to the school for boys in Ellington, Conn. His
father not being able to support him longer in
school, he returned to Nantucket and became assist-
ant teacher in the schools of that Island. In August,
1835, he entered Yale College. Here his fine scholar-
ship and superior mathematical powers soon gave
him an eminent place among the students. He grad-
uated with honor in 1839.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 49

Long before his entrance to Yale College lie had
become absorbed in astronomy, and its attendant,
mathematics. In this branch of science he was re-
markably proficient and astonishingly successful for
one so young and so limited as to appliances. At
the recent Centenary of Yale it was said, in the
address upon Yale in Astronomy, that "E. P. Mason
was the most brilliant of the group which initiated
our national zeal for astronomical research, and that
it was not thought exaggeration to compare his
powers with those of Sir William Herschel, or even
Galileo. ' ' Yet he died at the age of twenty-one years.
In his freshman year at Yale he calculated the
eclipse of the moon, his only instruments being a
pair of compasses and a two foot rule. His draw-
ings then made were published in the Yale Literary
Magazine. His first telescope he made himself.
With this, in March, 1837, he was requested to
observe a remarkable cluster of sun-spots which had
appeared and to keep a journal of his observations.
This was his first important original work and was
deposited in Yale college. This was followed by
his work on Periodical Meteors, published in the
American Philosophical Transactions of 1841. He
next reviewed the demonstrations and repeated the
solutions to the problems in the proof sheets of
Prof. Olmsted's Natural Philosophy, 3d Edition.
The vacation previous to the fall of 1838, he spent
in constructing a new and large telescope for the
especial purpose of making observations upon the
great eclipse of the sun, to occur Sept. 18, 1838.
The results of these observations were published
in the American Journal of Science. A few weeks

5 0 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

before commencement he made the observation on
Nebulae which is considered his greatest achieve-
ment. It formed the basis of his paper upon obser-
vations on Nebulae published in the Transactions
of the American Philosophical Society for 1840.
Hoping to recruit his failing health, he accepted a
position on the Commission of the United States, to
explore the boundary line in dispute between Maine
and Canada. He returned to New York, Oct. 29,
1840, and had arranged to reduce his observations
to proper form, by aid of an assistant at Columbia
College, when ill health compelled him to quit his
work. He returned to New Haven and by a heroic
effort finished his Practical Astronomy, a work on
which he had spent much time and study, — a work
which was to be his last. On the second of Decem-
ber he left New Haven for Richmond, hoping that
the milder climate would aid him to a longer life.
It was in vain. Nine days after his arrival he ex-
pired at the home of Rev. J. H. Turner, at the age
of 21 years. It must have been hard for this young
man to die in the morning of his busy life, and just
as the highest achievements seemed opening to him ;
to relinquish all his ambitions, hopes and exalted
purposes forever. Perhaps resignation would have
been easier had he known that his work would en-
dure, that his memoirs would be published, and
that in the Annals of Yale, he would be held in
memory as one of its most gifted sons. For further
information concerning Ebenezer Porter Mason, the
inquirer is directed to his memoirs by Prof. Olms-
ted. They were penned by a loving hand.

(By Mrs. M. C. Howe.)

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 51

22.

Laura Tallmadge Mason (6), Stephen 5, Elisha 4, Jos-
eph 3, Jooseph z, John 1; b. Sept. 21, 1824, in Washing-
ton, Conn.; m. Nov. 27, 1845, Henry Curtis Haskell; b.
May. 28, 1820, d. Dec. 16, 1905; d. March 11, 1875, in
Marshall, Mich.

Children, all born in Marshall, Mich.

1. Laura Tallmadge Haskell (7), b. July 12, 1849.

2. Stephen Mason Haskell (7), b. Oct. 14, 185 0. 67.

3. Henry Marsh Haskell (7), b. Oct. 25, 1852. 6S.

4. Frances Elizabeth Haskell (7), b. Sept. 25, 1854.

5. Mary Catharine Haskell (7), b. Sept. 8, 1856. 69.

6. Porter David Haskell (7), b. April 28, 1859.

7. William Lincoln Haskell (7), b. Aug. 10, 1864. 70.

Laura Tallmadge (Mason) Haskell in early life,
like many children of ministers, had several homes.
When she was fourteen years of age her father re-
moved to Marshall, Mich. Within two years of
their arrival, she was deprived of her mother and
brother by death. She now found an excellent
home in the family of her mother's sister, the wife
of Rev. Dr. Marsh of Brooklyn, N. Y. Here sihe re-
sided for several years. Her education was super-
ior for those times and was mainly acquired at
Northampton, Mass. Her husband's home was ia
Marshall, Mich., which was her home till death.
Here her seven children were born. From early life
her sensitive nervous organization was the cause of
much suffering. In 1867 she became a confirmed
invalid from spinal disease and suffered much. The
tedium of life during these years, she relieved some-
what by reading, writing and useful or ornamental

52 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

handiwork. She much enjoyed the use of her pea,
and some of her poems show a gifted mind and a
devout heart. She was of a timid shrinking nature,
much preferring her books and a few congenial
friends to general society, in which she was also
well fitted to shine. She was a devoted mother
and from her youth a consistent Christian. She
practically recovered her health several years he-
fore her death but finally died of pneumonia at the
age of fifty-one years.

M. C. H.

23.

C. Louisa Webster (6), Lucretia 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. July 6, 1813, in Hanover, Chataa-
qua County, New York; m. Oct. 1, 1831, Sylvester E.
Abbott who died in 1879; d. Dec. 17, 1905.

Children.

1.' Newton Abbott (7), b. Sept. 1, 1833; d. Jan. 1835.

2. Lucretia Alsina Abbott (7), b. May 10, 1835. 71.

6. Caroline E. Abbott (7), b. May 19, 1839. 72.

4. Louise E. Abbott ,7), b. July 24, 1842. 73.

5. Webster W. Abbott (7), b. April 27, 1844. 74.

6. Betsey E. Abbott (7), b. Jan. 31, 1846. 75.

7. Marcia A. Abbott (7), b. July 28, 1848. 76.

8. Caleb Abbott (7), b. April 12, 1850; d. April 30,
1850.

9. Anna A. L. Abbott (7), b. April 28, 1853. 77.

10. Sylvester E. Abbott (7), b. April 19, 1856. 78.

Louisa (Webster) Abbott was quite a pilgrim. Her
father settled first in Hanover, N. Y., where the fam-
ily lived for a dozen years, more or less. In Janu-
ary, 1828, the family home was in Boston, N. Y. In

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 53

May, 1832, it was in Concord, N. Y., and in 1834 in
Elyria, Ohio, (where Elijah Mason then lived) being
doubtless on the way to Michigan. For a short
period, before and after marriage, she resided in
Albany, but when her parents removed to Michigan
she and her husband returned to Concord and lived
on her father's farm. There they resided for nearly
fifty years. The year following tihe death of her
husband, she went with her youngest daughter and
her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Corah, to East Aurora,
N. Y., and with them she spent the remaining
twenty-five years of her life. It is said "To know
her was to love her." Even the children of the
neighborhood brought the best flowers that bloomed
in gardens, or by the wayside for "Grandma," as
they called her. Her active life was spent in faith-
ful work in the Presbyterian Church of which her
husband and all their children were influential mem-
bers. For many years Mrs. Abbott was called to
pass through the "refiner's fire," and to endure
great hardship and suffering from a complication of
acute and chronic diseases of the heart, stomach and
other vital organs. She was compelled to diet strict-
ly, and to deny herself many privileges. At last a
dear friend from California visited her while she
was confined to her bed, and commended to her "The
Christian Science Healing." This friend was as-
sured that no faith or confidence was reposed in
that, but later the suffering woman was induced "to
try it. ' ' The result was that she was raised to health
and for eight years afterwards, until the end of life,
she needed no physician and used no drugs. There
was no restraint concerning diet or social privileges,

54 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

and her life henceforth flowed on serenely as she
rejoiced in His promise who "forgiveth all thine
iniquities — who healeth all thy diseases." And
when the end came, she settled down to rest as
sweetly as does the evening sun at the close of a
cloudless day."

(Mrs. Colwell.)

It may be noted that the sisters, Louisa and Mar-
cia who alone of the Webster children passed over
into the 20th Century (though living in different
States) — died with only an interval of five days in
the dates of the event, there being about six years
between dates of birth.

24.

Caroline Webster (6), Lucretia 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. Sept. 25, 1815, in Hanover, Chatau-
qua Co., N. Y.; m. March 3, 1837, Moses Emerson; b.
July 30, 1812; d. Nov. 8, 1892; d. May 10, 1842.

Child, born in Logan County, Ohio.

1. Josiah D. Emerson (7), b. May 19, 1740. 79.

Caroline (Webster) Emerson's life was brief and
her history is not very well known. From a letter
written by her mother, Lucretia Webster, July 20,
1843, and now before the writer, comes our earliest
information concerning her. She was tihen teaching
school (apparently) in Carlisle, Ohio, where a thrae
months' engagement was extended three months
longer. She had previously been a student in the
school at Oberlin, to which place a letter from Phebe
Turner, a Connecticut cousin, was forwarded to her.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 55

This explains where her "husband to be" found
his future wife. He was born in Chelsea, Vt., and
was a student at Oberlin in 1834. In 1836 he went
into Logan County, Ohio, bought land, built a log
cabin, "windrowed" and burned the timber on a
few acres around the cabin on which to raise the
next year's crop. He then returned to Oberlin and
was married; but was back to his house in the
wilderness before corn-planting time, having piloted
bis bride two hundred miles, on horseback through
the woods to their new home. Five years of happy
joyous life followed, and then her work was done.
She passed to the Great Beyond, leaving husband,
babe and a stricken community to mourn her early
going. This is what is gleaned from her mother's
letter in 1834 and from a letter in 1907 from her
son Josiah D. Emerson of Bellefontaine, Ohio.

25.

Marcia Webster (6), Lucretia 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. Sept. 15, 1819, in Hanover, Chatau-
qua Co., N. Y.; m. Dec. 14, 1837, Oren S. Rickey, b.
July 19, 1811; d. July 26, 1890; d. Dec. 22, 1902, in
Lake Odessa, Mich.

Children.

1. Edgar Douglas Rickey (7), b. Dec. 19, 1838. 80.

2. Edwin R. Rickey (7) b. Jan. 30, 1840. 81.

3. Alice M. Rickey, (7), b. Nov. 5, 1843. 82.

4. Eva Jane Rickey, b. June 12, 1848. S2y2.

Marcia (Webster) Rickey belonged to a patriotic
race. Her grandfather served three years in the
Revolutionary War. Her father served in the war of
1812 and was at Buffalo when it was burned by

5 6 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

the British. Her only brother Lieut. Guy Webster
of Ionia, Mich., served three years in the Third
Michigan Cavalry, in the Civil War. Her two sons
served in the 178th Ohio Infantry, the elder as
private, the younger as captain in the same Regt.
This is a grand record. When she was twelve years
of age her parents removed to Ohio, where at the
age of eighteen, she married. In 1866 she and her
husband came to Michigan and settled on a farm
about five miles north of Ionia. There they lived
until death separated them. The last two years
of her life she was with her daughter, Mrs. Coi-
well, in Lake Odessa. There her funeral service
was held December 26, after which her remains
were interred by the side of her husband's in AVood-
ard Lake Cemetery, North Ionia. A beautiful me-
morial tribute was published in 1902 concerning her
character, life and death.

26.

Lucretia Webster (6), Lucretia 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. April 5, 1825, in Hanover, (or
Boston), N. Y. ; m. June 1842, Loren Sprague; residence,
Ionia, Mich.; farmer; d. Nov. 24, 1884.

Children.

1. Austin Sprague (7), b. Sept. 14, 1843. 83.

2. Eusebia Sprague (7), b. May 14, 1846; d. Dec. 29,
1896. 84.

3. Lucretia Sprague (7), b. May 3, 1851. 85.

Of Lucretia (Webster) Sprague (6), little is
known. That little has been known to the writer
for fifty years. There has been no addition to it
except the following laconic statement by the hus-

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 57

band of one of her daughters, of whom information
was sought. "Lucretia Sprague was like her
mother, and my wife was just like them both. '
Knowing as we do the excellencies and high charac-
ter of the two Lucretias, mother and grandmother,
the conclusion is irresistible that the maker of the
foregoing terse statement had a most excellent wife.

27.

.Lieut (iuy Webster (6) Lucretia 5, Elisha 4, Joseph
3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. Sept. 21, 1831 in Concord, N. Y.;
m. June 9, 1854; (name of wife not known); d. July
19, 1865, in Ionia, Mich. ' No children.

The following account of Lieut. Guy Webster (6)
is taken from a local Michigan newspaper and shows
the place he held in the community.

Death of Guy Webster, Esq., Ionia Mich. July
19, 1865.

It is with pain and regret that we record the
accidental death of our esteemed friend and fellow
citizen, Lieut. Guy AVebster of Orleans. On Thurs-
day afternoon while unloading hay he was instantly
killed by the falling of a patent hay-fork, one tine
of which penetrated his left breast near the heart.
He was buried on Friday last with appropriate
Masonic ceremonies, of which society he was an
honored and useful member. Lieut. Webster en-
listed as a private in the fall of 1861. By uniform
good conduct and gallantry as a soldier he became
1st Lieutenant, leaving the service by reason of the
expiration of his term of enlistment in October,
1864. As an officer Lieut. Webster was distinguished
for fearless bravery, coolness and efficiency in all

58 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

details and duties of his calling. Whether on the
march, in the camp, or on the field of battle, he
was c'heerful, active, and courageous. Thus he won
alike the love and respect <of his subordinates and
the regard and confidence of his superiors. As a
citizen he did honor to the community in which ha
lived. His loss is a sad one to all who knew him.
In disposition, kind and amiable to a fault, yet he
was ever a fearless advocate of the right on all po-
litical and moral questions. A kindly neighbor, a
true Christian, an earnest Republican, a warm-
hearted patriot, he wielded a mighty influence for
good. His loss is not ours .alone; the world will
miss a true gentleman and our country a stout de-
fender. His Epitaph reads :

'The earth that bears him dead,
"Bears not alive so kind a gentleman."
Of him, a relative writes that he was six feet m
height, well-formed, with dark hair and eyes, and
a smile that won friends on every side, — that in the
Civil War he served in the Cavalry, and that he
participated in the battles of Iuka and Corinth,
Miss., also in .the heavy cavalry battle of Holly
Springs in October, 1863, besides numerous affairs
and skirmishes.

28.

Elizabeth Mason Oviatt (6), Caroline, 5, Elisha 4, Jos-
eph 3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. Oct. 25, 1823, in Washing-
ton, Conn.; m. March 27, 1844, Russell Gaius Reynolds;
b. Nov. 1, 1814; d. June 10, 1897.

Children.

1. Caroline Elizabeth Reynolds (7), b. Jan. 25, 1849.

88.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 59

2. Lillian R. Reynolds (7), b. July 12, 1854. 87.

3. Howard Reynolds (7), b. May 19, 1868. 88.

29.
Harriett Oviatt (6), Caroline 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. July 27, 1826, in Washington,
Conn.; m. May 31, 1847, Cyrus Clark; b. Feb. 20, 1819;
d. Feb. 25, 1907, in Medina, Ohio.

Children.

1. Porter Oviatt Clark (7), b. June 12, 1851. 89.

2. Frances R. Clark (7), b. Sept. 23, 1853; residence
Medina, Ohio.

3. Arthur Lucius Clark (7), b. March 12, 1858. 90.

4. Franklin Joshua Clark (7), b. March 24, 1860. 91.

30.

Joshua Newell Oviatt (6), Caroline 5, Elisha 4, Joseph
3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. Oct. 27, 1832, in Washington,
Conn.; m. Nov. 25, 1862, Martha McNary; residence
W. Hartford, Conn.; business; farming, journalism.

Children.

1. Annie MicNary Oviatt (7), b. Sept. 21, 1868.

2. Edward Mason Oviatt (7), b. Oct. 3, 1874; m. June
29, 1908, Madeleine V. Woodworth.

31.

Elisha Mason (6), Elijah 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Jos-
eph 2, John 1; b. June 4, 1826, in Ohio; m. Oct. 13,
1851, Emeline A. Peck; b. i>.ov. 17, 1829; d. Aug. 19,
1906; d. May 5, 1891, in Callao, Peru, South America.

Children.

1. Emma Adelaide (7), b. Jan. 10, 1854, in Litchfield,
Conn. 92.

2. Lillie Emeline (7), b. Aug. 23, 1857, in Northamp-
ton, Mass. 93.

3. Elliott Bruce (7), b. April 12, 1864, in New Haven,
Conn. 94.

60 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Elisha Mason (6), came from Ohio to Connecticut
when a boy and made his home with his uncle in
South Farms, now Morris. During and after his
school days he worked at tailoring with his uncle.
He afterwards plied his trade in Litchfield. But
preferring out door life, he learned to be a carpen-
ter and joiner. At this he worked for a time in
Litchfield, Bantam, and also in Springfield, Mass.
He then went to New Haven and was in the employ
of the N.Y., N. H. & H. R. R. Co., as car constructor.
In this he became an expert, He next engaged with
Meiggs & Co., in a contract with the Peruvian Gov-
ernment, to run a railroad line from Callao to Lima,
an ascent from the sea coast to the Upper Cordil-
leras, of about 15,000 feet in a hundred miles. He
made occasional visits to> his family in Connecticut
for many years. Then tidings came of his death
and burial in that foreign land. His only son, Bruce,
has a newspaper clipping which reads as follows:
"An American named Elisha Mason died in hos-
pital here (Callao) 5th inst. (1891). He had been
suffering from Virragas fever, for about a month.
He was interred the following day in Bella Vista.
The funeral was largely attended by the employees
of the Oroya R. R. Co., where he had been employed.
Deceased was 64 years of age and leaves a wife and
family in Litchfield, Conn., U. S. A."

32.

Cynthia Adaline Mason (6), Elijah 5, Elisha 4, Jos-
eph 3, Jospeh 2, John 1; b. about 1828; married in
Qberlin, Ohio, Bela Parr, a student in the college in that
town, and had three children born there, two sons and a
daughter. The family continued in Oberlin until both

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 61

parents died within a few months of each other. The
children disappeared scon after and the supposition is
that they were taken South by relatives of the father who
was of a Southern family. By the interruptions of the
Civil War or other causes they and their descendants are
lost to this record. Of the mother little is known and
of the father still less.

Children, born in Oberlin, Ohio.

1. George Mason Farr (7), b. Sept. 15, 185 4.

2. Joseph Bela Farr (7), b. April 12, 1858.

3. Anna C. Farr (7), b. June 10, 1861.

33.

Elijah F. Mason (6), Elijah 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. Feb. 2, 1830; m. Aug. 22, 1861,
Louis A. Cottrell, who died June 22, 1890; d. June S,
1890, in California.

Children, born near Sacramento, Cal.

1. Clara(7), b. April 5 1867. 95.

2. Nettie (7), b. June 16, 1871. 96.

3. Charles (7), b. Sept. 25, 1872. 97.

4. Ella (7), b. Oct. 24, 1874. 98.
5 Edward (7), b. Nov. 20, 1876; d. Nov. 8, 1889.

6. Elijah (7), b. Feb. 21, 1878. 99.

7. Alwin (7), b. May 17, 1882.

31.

Adelaide Demila Mason (6), Elijah 5, Elisha 4, Jos-
eph 3 Joseph 2, John 1; b. May 14, 1834 in Cleveland,
Ohio.; m. Feb. 14, 1856, Horton Lockwood Holcomb;
b. April 6, 1816; d. Feb. 20, 1866.

Children.

1. Cora Lynn Holcomb (7), b. Jan. 16, 1857. 100.
2 Arabella Holcomb (7), b. June 5, 1858. 101.

3. Horton Lockwood Holcomb (7), b. July 10, 1859.
4 Frances Adelaide Holcomb (7), b. Jan. 18, 1862.

102.

5. Bruce Mason Holcomb (7>, b. Aug. 14, 1866. 103.

62 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

35.

Joshua Mason (6), Joseph W., 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. Dec. 5, 1831, in Morris, Conn.; d.
Sept. 2, 1858, in Charleston, S. C; not married.

Joshua Mason (6) was instructed in the tailor's
trade by his father and his cousin Elisha Mason in
the little shop at Morris, Conn. He was soon a
skillful workman. He was for some time with a
Mr. Hull of Litchfield, and then for several years
was employed in New Haven. Still later, he went
to the South and lived in Charleston, S. C. Soon
afterwards he died there of yellow fever. Tempor-
arily, he was interred in Charleston, but finally his
body was brought home and placed in the family
lot, East Cemetery. He was the only son of this
family to reach manhood. He is said to have been
of high character and refined tastes.

As a playmate of the writer he was very dear.

36.

Eloise 31. Mason (6), Joseph W., 5, Elisha 4, Joseph
3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. Aug. 8, 1841, in Morris, Conn.;
d. Oct. 29, 1904; not married.

Eloise M. Mason (6) spent her early life in Morris,
except a period of (teaching in Waterbury. Teaching
was hier life work. In it her ability and enthusiasm
brought her eminent success. When it was too late,
the discovery was made that she was physically, in
a critical condition requiring flie use of surgery.
Promptly she arranged her affairs and heroically
prepared for the result, whatever it might be. Her
body, only, came back to Morris, Rev. F. W. Flet-

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 63

cher, her pastor, says of her : "Up to the time of her
death she was at the head of the town library com-
mittee and had acted as librarian from the time of
its organization. Every confidence was placed in
her ability and skill both to care for the library
and to select books for its shelves. I do not know
that the idea of a town library originated with her,
but I do know that it was her work and interest
that made it a success. She is, perhaps, remem-
bered best and most lovingly, as a teacher, in the
public schools. So well did she impress her own
personality upon the lives of her pupils that any
testimony borne by them to her life, always reverts
to her school teaching. They remember her as the
teacher they honored and loved. The shock that
her death brought to the entire community and the
affecting memorial service held for her in the chapel,
Sunday night, testify to the place she held in the
hearts of the people of her native town."

Maria Mason (6), Edwin 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3, Jos-
eph 2, John 1; b. Oct. 29, 1827, in Litcrfield, Conn.; m.
Sept. 27, 1849, John M. Nevins; b. April 26, 1826; i.
Jan. 8, 1890; d. April 29, 1902.

Children, born in Hastings, Mich.

1. Ella Maria Nevins (7), b. Feb. 25, 1855; d. Oct. 1,
1855.

2. Morse Edwin Nevins (7), b. Sept. 9, 1856. 10-1.

3. Eva Clarissa Nevins (7), b. May 4, 1859. 105.

4. Anna Cynthia Nevins (7), b. Aug. 28, 1861 106.

5. Mason Cornelius Nevins (7), b. May 14, 1868. 107.

64 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Maria Mason (6) was born in the Chest-
nut Hill homestead, Litchfield. When about five
years old she migrated with her parents to Michi-
gan. There, as the extent of her educational op-
portunities, she attended a log-cabin school one and
one half mileis distant. She was married at her
father's home in Richland, Kalamazoo Co., Mich.
About three years later the young couple removed
to Hastings, distant about thirty miles, and engaged
in mercantile affairs. The house in which they first
dwelt, changed and enlarged from time to time, was
occupied by them during all their married life. The
site of the old house is now occupied by a modern
structure Which is the home of one of their children.
Mrs. Nevins and her husband were members of the
Presbyterian church, for many years, sang in the
choir and were active and useful in all church work.

(Mrs. C. C. Olmsted.)

38.

Cornelius Mason (6), Edwin 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. Sept. 29, 1829, in Litchfield, Conn.;
m. March 3, 1851, Frances Slater; b. Dec. 29, 1833; d.
June 26, 1881; m. Jan. 12, 1885, Maggie Gibson, b.
185 0. Parmer retired.

Children.

1 Grace J. (7), b. Sept. 21, 1852. 108.

2. Ida F. (7), b. April 14, 1854. 109.

3. Mary A. (7), b. May 7, 1858. 110.

4. Edwin S. (7), b. Aug. 30, 1862.

5. Hobert Guy (7), b. July 18, 1864. 111.

6. Edith Clarissa (7), b. Nov. 28, 1868. 112.

7. Bruce (7), b. Sept. 20, 1887.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE G5

39.

Laura T. Mason (6), Edwin 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. July 11, 1832, in Litchfield. Conn ;
m. March 3, 1851, George Slater; d. Nov. 26, 185 3.

Child.

1. Mary Ophelia Slater (7), b. d. 1853.

40.

Betsey Ann Mason (6), Edwin 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. Dec. 28, 1841, in Richland, Mich.;
m. May 5, 1864, Frank Storms; b. Jan. 25, 1845. Hard-
ware merchant in Plainw^ll, Mich.

Child.

1. Bernice Storms (7), b. March 10, 1873, at Plainwell,
Mich. 113.

41.

Cornelia C. Mason (6), Edwin 5, Elisha 4, Joseph 3,
Joseph 2, John 1; b. Dec. 26, 1846, in Richland, Mich.;
m. Jan. 24, 1872, Martin B. Olmsted; b. Jan. 26, 1847;
d. May 9, 1907, in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Children.

1. Floyd Olmsted (7), b. Nov. 3 0, 1874, in Galesburg,
Mich. 111.

2. Porter Olmsted (7), b. Oct. 30, 1876; d. May 1, 1898.

3. Morse Olmsted (7), b. July 20, 1882.

42.

George William Mason (6), Benj. W., 5, Elisha 4,
Joseph 3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. Feb. 24, 1833, in Litch-
field, Conn.; m. April 25, 1855, Julia Emeline Osborn;
b. Aug. 19, 1833; Civil War veteran; retired farmer.

66 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Children.

1. Franklin Burr (7), b. March 7, 1857, in Litchfield,
Conn. 115.

2. Robert Goodwin (7), b. Oct. 9, 1860, d. Jan. 2,
1865.

3. Charlotte Elizabeth (7), b. Sept. 23, 1866, in Litch-
field, Conn. 116.

4. George Edwin (7), b. July 19, 1870, in Litchfield,
Conn. 117.

Before the death of a comrade and brother be-
loved, no thought of more than genealogical mention
in these pages was entertained ; but the event
alluded to brought a new point of view. The roll
of the surviving Veterans of the Civil Wiar in this
general family now numbers four. This number can
not long be maintained. It is fitting, therefore,
that the records of this book concerning the soldiers
of the Civil War, present and Beyond, shall be here
completed and closed together.

During the mid-summer of 1862 miany people had
anxious moments and serious thoughts. The Presi-
dent's call for 300,000 more men had come; and it
fell like a mandate from the skies. The hamlets
and villages furnished platoons; towns furnished
companies ; counties assembled regiments, and
Litchfield County placed one of her very best upon
the beautiful hill overlooking her county-seat and
Bantam Lake ; the identical spot on which, in 1720
the pioneer, Joseph Mason, built his cabin and digged
the well from which these soldiers drank while they
were being briefly trained for the trade of war.
The regiment was mustered into service September
11, 1862, and four days later started by rail for the
defenses of Washington. In passing through Mary-

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 67

land, they plainly heard the enraged guns of both
armies as they bore witness at South Mountain and
Antietam that the anticipated invasion was an ac-
complished fact.

The regiment, being unarmed, was conveyed
across the Potomac beyond Alexandria to replace
seasoned troops just moved to the front. Here-
abouts the regiment was detained, and trained in
both infantry and artillery practice, for eighteen
months.

In June, 1863, a detail of three officers and nine
enlisted men was sent to Conscript Camp, New
Haven, Conn., for permanent duty in connection
with drafting and recruiting service. During this
period the regiment (19th Infantry) was reorgan-
ized, and became a full artillery regiment, and re-
named 2nd Conn. Heavy Artillery. The numbers
and officers were greatly increased, and Corporal
Mason, of the New Haven detail, was promoted to
Quartermaster Sergeant of Company A. He had
been for months in the adjutant's office in New
Haven, writing muster-rolls in quadruplicate for the
several detachments, and desiring a change, he ap-
plied by letter to the Secretary of War for relief
and return to his regiment. This was no sooner
accomplished than General Grant ordered the artil-
lery regiments of the Defenses to take the field as
infantry.

Joining the Army of the Potomac at Spotsyl-
vania the day after General Sedgwick fell (to whose
corps the 2nd Conn. Heavy Artillery was assigned),
the regiment participated in whatever occurred
until Appomatox Court House was reached.

68 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

But Cold Harbor (June 1st) closed Sergeant
Mason's relations with the Army of the Potomac,
and in the fatal charge of the 2nd Connecticut
Heavy Artillery, which went in 1800 strong over the
first line of Longstreet's works, only to be cut down
like grass before the second line (in dense woods),
he was severely wounded in the head, and wellnigh
died from loss of blood. Six months were required
for a renewal of health and strength.

July 8, 1864, he received a commission as Captain
and A. Q. M. U. S. Vols. On reporting for duty
December 1st, he was ordered to report to General
Ingalls, Chief Q. M., Army of the Potomac, at City
Point, and he was given charge of a brigade train
connected with General Terry's command, then at
Wilmington, N. C. On the approach of General
Sherman's army, the commands of Generals Terry
and Scihofield moved on to Goldsboro. "While mov-
ing northward in pursuit of Johnston, a severe
engagement took place at Bentonville. Then came
Johnston's surrender and the Grand Review of all
these armies at Raleigh, after which they made
their way across country to Washington, by way of
Richmond.

After about six months' service in disposing of
government property and affairs, quartermasters
were ordered to report to the Quartermaster Gen-
eral's office at Washington from their several places
of residence, which was done, in this case, about
mid-November.

The years following the war he has spent chiefly
in agricultural pursuits in his native town, where he

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 69

has filled various offices of public trust. Since 1904
be, with his life partner of fifty years has lived the
life of retirement so well earned.

43.

Charles Hubert Mason (6), Benj. W., 5, Elisha 4,
Joseph 3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. April 7, 1835, in Litch-
field, Conn.; m. May 6, 1857, Phinette Herschel Ford;
b. July 18, 1833; d. March 4, 1894; d. M.ay 30, 1897.

Charles Hubert Mason (6) was the strong boy of
the family and in his early years at home had ample
opportuity to show it. At about the age of eighteen
years, being already a master of farm work, he be-
came working manager of the farm owned by Capt.
Taylor Mitchell, in Washington, Conn., with whom
he continued four or five years. He then married,
but made Washington his permanent home. Com-
mencing business with his wife's father, Mr. Nelson
Ford, he soon purchased tracts of land near by,
thereby greatly enlarging the farm and making it
of considerable importance. He was soon drawn
into public affairs and for many years was select
man and a member of the various town boards.. He
represented the town in the General Assembly of
1878. At one time he was treasurer of the State
Grange. He was prominent in the local Order of
Patrons of Husbandry and in the Masonic Frater-
nity. In both these orders he served as Master.
He was a member of the Congregational church
from his youth to the end of his life. His character
was irreproachable. He was a true friend, a wise
counselor and filled a large place in the community.
His robust manliness conjoined with his kindly

70 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

sympathy and ready helpfulness, will not soon be
forgotten by those who knew him. With some —
never.

Child.

1. Louis Adelbert Mason (7), b. Jan. 18, 1864, in
Washington, Conn. 1.18.

44.

Kbenezer Porter Mason (6), Benj. W., 5, Elisha 4,
Joseph 3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. July 13, 1841, in Litch-
field, Conn.; m. Dec. 3, 1877, Jeannie Ames Sprague,
who died Dec. 18, 188 7. Veteran Civil War. Died
March 4, 1911.

E. Porter Mason, the third son of Benjamin W.,
was for the larger part of his life the absent mem-
ber of the family. He left the ancestral home at
the age of 16 years, going to New Haven, Conn., as
clerk in a mercantile house, and at the call of Presi-
dent Lincoln in the spring of 1861, his name was
entered at Hartford, Conn., as private in Co. A, 4th
Conn. Vols., and he is on record as the first name
enlisted for three years, or during the war. He
served with more than ordinary activity in all the
marches and countermarches of the Army of the
Potomac, and was promoted to various responsible
positions, a list of which speaks volumes for the con-
fidence of his superiors in his versatility and ability.
May 13th, 1864, he was assigned to the staff of Gen-
eral Robert 0. Tyler, commanding a division in
Hancock's 2nd Corps, and when General Tyler was
wounded at Cold Harbor, June 3rd, 1864, he accom-
panied him to Washington, and gave the first infor-

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 71

mation of affairs at the front, all telegraphic con-
nection having been cut, by order of General Grant.
He was retained by General Tyler, as a personal
member of his staff, to which he was entitled while
on sick leave; later returning to his regiment in
front of Petersburg, Va., where he was assigned to
the command of a four-gun battery in "Fort Hell,"
and later to the command of Battery Sawyer
(Crow's Nest Battery) on the James River, Vir-
ginia, as First Lieutenant, November 4th, 1864,
where he did masterly service. His last military
service was as aide to General Tyler, at the review
of the Connecticut State Militia, at the inauguration
of Governor Buckingham, in May, 1865. March
13th, 1865, he was brevetted Captain of United
States Volunteers, for meritorious service, and June
1st, 1865, was honorably discharged for physical
disability and because his services were no longer
needed, after serving for over four yeiars.

After his discharge, he engaged in the clothing
business in Milwaukee, Wis., Boston and New York,
and for the last 18 years of his life he was with R.
G. Dun & Co., Philadelphia, in charge of a depart-
ment relating to trust, banking and financial inter-
ests.

Captain Mason was a member of the Loyal Legion
and of the Seth F. Plumb Post, G. A. R., in Litch-
field, Conn., where is a fitting memorial of his record
in the Civil War. He was for years a consistent
member of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

E. Porter Mason was favored by nature with a
personal presence and address at once attractive
and impressive. He possessed in an unusual degree
the rare combination of strength and gentleness.

72 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Strong as a lion when roused, his normal mood was
one of grace and tenderness. As expressed by one
who was in daily business with him for many of his
later years, ' ' Here was a man. ' ' There are few names
in the family roster on which posterity may look
with greater respect and admiration.

45.

Edward Benjamin Mason (6), Benj. W. 5, Elisha 4,
Joseph 3, Joseph 2, John 1; b. May 4, 1846 in Litch-
field, Conn.; m. May 11, 1871, Adelaide Crandall (6),
April 11, 1849.

Child.

1. Susan (7), b. July 28, 1872.

46.

Lucy Margaret Kasson (7), see No. 15; b. Feb. 24,
1832, in Bethlehem, Conn.; m. Aug. 16, 1864, Daniel C.
Churchill who died Sept. 6, 1878; d. May 30, 1892.

Children, born in Northfield, Conn.

1. Gertrude Charlotte Churchill (8), b. Feb. 3, 1867.

119.

2. John Kasson Churchill (8), b. July 15, 1868; 1.
May, 1892.

3. Anna Lucretia Churchill (8), b. Sept. 24, 1870. 120.

4. Carrie Maud Churchill (8), b. March 20, 1872.

5. Elizabeth Kasson Churchill (8), b. Aug. 1, 1874.

121.

4/.

Eleanor Maria Kasson (7), see No. 15; b. Aug. 5,
1834, in Bethlehem, Conn.; m. June 21, 1857, Martin
Mallory, who died May 7, 1885.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 73

Children.

1. Edna Mallory (8), b. March 27, 1859, in Bridge-
water, Conn. 122.

2. Robert Clinton Mallory (8), b. Jan. 28, 1864, in
Bridgewater, Conn. 123.

3. Edith Mae Mallory (8), b. May 2, 1866, in Bridge-
water, Conn.

48.

Deborah McCall Kasson, see No. 15; b. June 10, 1838,
in Bethlehem, Conn.; m. Nov. 29, 1867, Horace K. San-
ford, of Bridgewater, Conn., who died Sept. 5, 1899.
She d. Oct. 11, 1908.

Children.

1. Genevieve Thekla Sanford (8), b. March 18, 1872,
in Bridgewater, Conn. 124.

2. Henry Clarence Sanford (8;, b. April 16, 1875.

3. Mabel Florence Sanford (8), b. April 29, 1879.

49.

Ralph Wilbur Kasson (7), see No. 16; b. Jan. 21,
1848, in Bethlehem, Conn.; m. May 27, 1870, Mary
E. Cramp. He is engaged in the insurance business at
Albany, N. Y.

50.

EMzabeeth Hull Kasson (7), see No. 15; b. July 4,
1850, in Bethlehem, Conn.; m. Jan. 1, 1879, Samuel P.
Hayes. She d. March 21, 1902.

51.

WilJiam Turner Kasson (7), see No. 15; b. Feb. 20,
185 4, in Bethlehem, Conn.; m. Oct. 16, 1884, Ina Allen,
She d. Oct. 4, 1890; m. Sept. 4, 1907, Edythe Ida Han
drick. Resides in Colorado Springs, Col.

74 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Child.

1. Mary Ina Kasson (8), b. Nov. 18, 1885.

52.

Sergt Fitz Gieeen Hollister (7), see No. 16; b. April
17, 1837, in Washington, Conn.; d. June 15, 1864, near
Petersburg, Va., not married.

Fitz Green Hollister was ready when his country
called. He was mustered into service Sept. 21, 1861,
in the 8th Regt. U. S. Vol. Inf., at Hartford; was
promoted Corporal Oct. 11, 1863 ; reenlisted at Ports-
mouth, Va., on December 24th of the same year ; was
promoted to Sergeant Feb. 12, 1864. He took part
in the battles of Newburn and siege of Fort Macon
in North Carolina ; also was in the battles at Fred-
ericksburg, Cold Harbor, Bermuda Hundred, Watt-
hall Junction, Drury 's Bluff and many lesser engage-
ments. In all of them he followed the flag unfal-
teringly and at last fell in the advance on Peters-
burg, Va., June 15, 1864. His body was sent home
by his comrades in arms and, on the day of the
funeral, was borne to the church where a discourse
was delivered by Rev. Dr. Murdoch, of New Mil-
ford, from the text "How are the mighty fallen!"
The vast concourse of people present seemed to
sigh, "How indeed!" In "Connecticut during the
Rebellion" his regimental chaplain says of him,
"Sergt. Hollister was as worthy a man as ever
graced the ranks of the Eighth Regiment. He was
diffident and retiring, " but intelligent and influen-
tial. He was faithful to God and Country, even unto
death." He went forth from one of the most in-
telligent homes in New England, where through all

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 75

the years, the movement of events, which led to the
clash of arms, had been noted, and fell in the strug-
gle, just as the daylight of final victory was dawn-
ing.

53.

Corp. Leonard Pierpont (7), see No. 17; b. May 15,

1842, in Morris, Conn.; d. July 16, 1865, in Galveston,
Texas; not married.

Leonard Pierpont (7) enlisted in Co. K, 76th Vol.
Inf. (Illinois) in August 1862. The Regiment, after
being mustered in, was ordered to Columbus for
drill. Oct. 1, 1862, the Regiment joined General
Grant in Tennessee and went with him in the cam-
paign along the Mississippi Central R. R. Corpo^l
Pierpont was in the entire siege of Vicksburg ; thon
his command moved on Jackson under General
Sherman ; and in May, following with General M-3
Arthur, it was engaged in the battles of Yazoo City,
Benton, Vaughn Station, and Deaeonsville. Under
General Slocum it fought several fierce battles.

In one instance it was cut off from the column
but cut its way through with a loss of 102 men. The
next month the Regiment was at Port Hudson. In
January, 1865, it was in New Orleans and at last
participated in the battle of Fort Blakely, Mobile,
April 9, 1865, the very day of General Lee's sur-
render at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Here
the Regiment suffered severely, losing 118 men out
of 362. The Regiment traveled 12,000 miles and
campaigned in eight Confederate States. It started
1,000 strong, had 156 recruits, making a total of

76 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

1,156 men. At the end of the war it had been re-
duced to about 300. In it all, Corp. Pierpont escaped.
In thirty-five months' service he was only off duty
two weeks, from illness. It will be remembered
that after the surrender of General Johnston's forces
in North Carolina, General Sheridan gathered an
army at Galveston, Texas, to invite the French Army
in Mexico to go home. They hastened to do so.
Here after escaping many perils Corp. Pierpont died,
just four days before his Regiment started for the
North and home.

(Mrs. J. N. P., chiefly.)

5 4.

Walter Pierpont (7), see No. 17; b. Sept. 9, 1843, in
Morris, Conn; d. June 1, 1864, at A&hland Station, Va.

Walter Pierpont was favorably situated in New
Haven, Conn., when he enlisted in the 1st Connecti-
cut Cavalry, Col. Erastus Blakeslee commanding.
This Regiment served in the Army of Virginia and
was in General Sheridan's raid around General Lee's
army ; starting May 8th at Spottsylvania and cutting
through between Lee and Richmond and encounter-
ing and defeating the Confederate cavalry under
Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, who was there killed. There
was vigorous fighting all the way until General
Sheridan rejoined General Grant near Chesterfield.
Here the "yellow jackets" of the 1st Connecticut
Cavalry met the 2d Connecticut Heavy Artillery
on the road, and spent with them an hour or two
of good cheer: June 1, 1864, — that day of carnage
and repulse, in the shock of the contending armies,

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 77

Walter Pierpont fell. He was killed at Ashland
Station, across the Chickahominy of the R. F. & P.
R. R., north of Richmond. His cousin Sergt. Hol-
lister, having survived the fearful ordeal at Cold
Harbor, fell at Petersburg just fifteen days later.

55.

Edward Sherman Pierpont (7), see No, 17; b. Nov.
22, 1844, in Morris Conn.; a. April 9, 1865, at Mobile,
Alabama; not married.

Edward Sherman Pierpont " was in the 8th Illi-
nois Vol. Inf., for the war. He was killed in its
last battle at Fort Blakeley, Mobile Harbor, April
9, 1865." This is the laconic story. It is the date
which adds sadness to it, for it was on this morning
of the very day the Confederacy collapsed at Ap-
pomattox Court House, Va., and Fort Blakeley would
have fallen without a blow. As it was, many a young
life was lost there, and many homes were filled with
grief.

These three (Nos. 53, 54, 55), sons of one mother,
early gained a place in the Temple of Honor. They
did what they could for itheir country and sealed
their devotion with their lives.

56.

J. Newton Pierpont (7), see No. 17; b. Feb. 6, 1847,
in Morris, Conn.; m. Oct. 12, 1875, Esther E. Pratt,
who died Oct. 10, 1885; m. Dec. 29, 1891, Carrie M.
Holbrook. He is a hardware merchant, and has plumb-
ing and heating business; resides at New Haven, Conn.;
house, 15 01 Chapel St.

Child.

1. Charlotte Cynthia Pierpont (8), b. Nov. 30, 1877.

78 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

57.
Mary Hooker Pierpont (7), see No. 17; b. March 30,
1849, in Morris, Conn.; m. Oct. 10, 1872, Henry C. Hall,
who died Jan. 18, 1908. Resides in Illinois.

Children.

1. Clara W. Hall (8), b. Oct. 2, 1874, d. May 24, 1880.

2. May Turner Hall (8), b. Feb. 1, 1877; m. George
Shaw, Dec. 29, 1899. 125.

3. Bertha Melvina Hall (8), b. June 23, 1879.

4. Edith Pierpont Hall (8), b. April 24, 1882.

5. Henry Pierpont Hall (8), b. June 14, 1885; d. Feb.
26, 1907.

58.
Lucy Pierpont (7), see No. 17; b. Jan. 20, 1853, in
Morris, Conn.; m. Jan. 23, 1884, W. Carey Foley. Re-
sides in Illinois, near Gibson City.

Children.

1. Mary Esther Foley (8), b. Oct. 23, 1885, d. Sept.
28, 1893.

2. Leonard Burnside Foley (8), b. Oct. 18, 1887.

3. Vera Pierpont Foley (8), b. March 13, 1893.

59.

James Pierpont (7), see No. 17; b. Oct 22, 1855, in
Morris, Conn.; m. Dec. 5, 1900, Bertha A. Yackee. Re-
sides in Illinois.

60.
John Pierpont (7), see No. 17; b. Oct. 22, 1855, in
Morris, Conn.; m. Feb. 19, 18 85, Mattie H. Foley. Re-
sides in Illinois.

61.
William Jay Turner (7), see No. 18; b. May 21, 1862,
at West Stockbridge, Mass.; m. Aug. 15, 1888, Nellie C.
Dowd, she d. abt. 1908-9 in Col.; d. Oct. 3, 1891.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 79

Child.

1. Annie Laura Turner (S), b. April 17, 1891, at
Valparaiso, Ind.

62.

Eva Maria Turner (7), see No. 19; b. May 12, 1852,
at Charles City, Iowa; m. Sept. 28, 1875, Asaph B.
Brown, who was born March 12, 1845.

63.

Carrie Turner (7), see No. 19; b. July 8, 1858, in
Winsted, Conn.; m. , Albert His, of Switzer-
land; d. Oct. 12, 1897.

Child.

1. Constance Madaline His (8), b. July 23, 1888;
resides in Basle, Switzerlana.

64.

3Iary Humphrey (7) see No. 20; b. Sept. 8, 1846, in
Norfolk, Conn.; m. Sept. 16, 1880, Rev. Richard H.
Gidman; d. March 23, 1906, in Preston City, Conn.

65.

Robert Phelps Humphrey, see No. 20; b. March 28,
1851, in Norfolk, Conn.; m. Jan. 23, 1884, Alice E.
Corbin. Residence, Ft. Scott, Ark., and is engaged in
the lumber business.

66.

John Humphrey, see No. 20; b. July 2, 1853, in Nor-
folk, Conn.; m. April 29, 1891, Katherine M. Isham,
Residence, New London, Conn.; Druggist.

67.

Stephen Mason Haskell (7), see No. 22; b. Oct. 11,

1850, in Marshall, Mich.; m. June 6, 18 77, Nellie Nixon.
He is Superintendent of Port Huron Copper Mines.

80 MASON- WEBSTER LINEAGE

Child.

1. Ethel Marguerite Haskell (8), b. Oct. 3, 1881; d.
Oct. 15, 1894.

68.

Henry Marsh Haskell, (7), see No. 22; b. Oct. 25,
1852, in Marshall, Mich.; m. Oct. 11, 1883, Emily Dusen-
bury, who was born Dec. 27, 1852. He is a physician
and orange grower in Redlands, California.

Children.

1. Robert Mason Haskell (o), b. Dec. 27, 1886.

2. Walter Newberry Haskell (8), b. May 25, 1892.

69.

Mary Catherine Haskell (7), see No. 22; b. Sept. 8,
1856, in Marshall, Mich.; in. Feb. 27, 1833, Newberry
J. Howe; b. March 22, 1856. He was a lawyer in Delphi,
Ind.; who died May 19, 1908.

70.

William Lincoln Haskell (7), see No. 22; b. Aug. 10,
1864, in Marshall, Mich.; m. June 12, 1889, Suzzette
Aris Copeland; b. Feb. 19, 1864. He is an artist and
resides in Chicago.

71.

Lucretia Alsina Abbott (7), see No. 23; b. May 10,
1835; m. Dec. 25, 1853, Curtis Newton; b. May 8, 1825;
d. May 29, 1891.

Children.

1. George Newton (8), b. Oct. 5, 1857; d. June 5, 1858.

2. Charles Newton (8), b. April 3, 1859.

3. Guy Newton (8), b. Sept. 5, 1861.

4. John Newton (8), b. April 18, 1863.

5. Lillie Newton (8), b. May 16, 1869.

6. Charles Newton (8), b. April 3, 1871.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 31

72.

Caroline M. Abbott (7), see No. 23; b. May 19, 183 9;
m. Dec. 25, 1857, George Holt; b. Aug. 9, 1835; d.
April 9, 1879.

Children.

1. Ida M. Holt (8), b. Oct. 5, 1865; d. May 29, 1888.

2. Effie L. Holt (8), b. July 15, 1871; d. March 4, 1892.

73.

Louisa E. Abbott (7), see No. 23; b. July 24, 1842;
m. Nov. 8, 1869, Reuben J. Dye; b. Oct. 11, 1820; d.
Dec. 23, 1891.

Child.

1 Avery J. Dye (8), b. Feb. 16, 1873; d. Dec. 20,

1893.

74.

Webster W. Abbott (7), see No. 23; b. April 27, 1844;
m. Jan. 1, 1880, Ella V. Baker; b. July 10, 1856.

Children.

1. Mabel L. Abbott (8), b. May 27, 1881.

2. Leora R. Abbott (8), b. Sept. 26, 1883.

3. Alsie L. Abbott (8), b. Nov. 12, 1885.

4. Clarence B. Abbott (8), b. Dec. 23, 1891.

5. Veryl G. Abbott (8), b. March 9, 1897.

75.

Betsey E. Abbott (7), see No. 23; b. Jan. 31. 1846;
m. June 28, 1881, Henry Murrey; b. Oct. 20, 1832.

Child.

1. Maude Murrey (8), b. May 27. 1883; d. Sept. 1,
1903.

82 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

76.

Marcia A. Abbott (7), see No. 23; b. July 28. 1848;
m. June 28, 1871, James Russell; b. March 1, 1848.

Child.

1. Orlo A. Russell (8), b. Jan. 18, 1874; d. Sept. 12,
1906.

77.

Anna A. L. Abbott (7), see No. 23; b. April 28, 1853;
m. March 24, 1880, William H. Corah; b. Feb. 16, 1855.
Home, East Aurora, N. Y.

Child.

1. Lillian Louisa Corah (8), b. Jan. 24, 1881; d. May.
16, 1882.

78.

Sylvester E. Abbott (7), see No. 23; b. April 19, 1856;
m. April 7, 1880, Ida M. Graves; b. Jan. 10, 1862.

Children.

1. Eva L. Abbott (8), b. March 10, 1881.

2. Grace C. Abbott (8), b. Feb. 26, 1883; d. March
10, 1903.

3. Margery Abbott (8), b. March 4, 1893.

4. Harvey B. Abbott (8), b. March 4, 1893.

5. Hazel Abbott (8), b. Aug 16, 1895.

6. Nelson Abbott (8), b. Nov. 14, 1897.

7. Sidney Abbott (8), b. Aug 11, 1899.

79i

Josiah D. Emerson (7), see No. 24; b. May 19, 1840,
m. Dec. 22, 1864, Mary Allen; b. March 29, 1843. Cap-
tain and Veteran in Civil War. Residence, Bellefon-
taine, Ohio.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 83

Children.

1. Charles A. Emerson (8), b. July 9, 1868; m. May 6,
1899, Ethel Detrick; b. 1876.

2. Guy Emerson (8), b. March 24, 1872; d. Dec. 12.
1874.

3. Dixie Emerson (8), b. Sept. 20, 1877; m. Oct. 17,
1899, to F. C. Sipittle; d. Aug. 30, 1909.

4. Willie Emerson (8), b. Feb. 2 0, 18 82; d. Dec. 5.
1882.

The subject of this sketch, when seventeen years
of age, left his father's farm in Logan County, Ohio,
to attend school. For three years he studied,
taught, and dreamed. When the Rebellion came he
enlisted as a private soldier to help make up Abra-
ham Lincoln's first call for 75,000 men. Within five
days after the firing on Fort Sumter a company of
students, 140 strong, had enlisted, but over the pro-
test of the president of the college, were not
accepted. William H. Wallace and Josiah Emerson
were the first two to go to the president to get ex-
cused from school to go to war. Wallace was killed
at Gettysburg, but the subject of our sketch ran
across the historic wheat-field, and still lives. He
enlisted for three months, but later enlisted for
three years. He was in McClellan's great army
organization, and helped to build Fort Woodbury.
The next spring they moved out to fight an enemy
that was not there !

They marched back to Alexandria, took boats
down the Potomac to Hampton, and thence marched
to Yorktown. From there on, it was a continuous
series of engagements, but we will mention only a
few of them: Malvern Hill, Harrison's Landing,

84 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chaneellors-
ville, Gettysburg, Culpepper, Wilderness and Laurel
Hill.

He was shot through the hip at Laurel Hill, and
stopped fighting for a time. At Gains' Mill he was
shot through the shoulder, and wihen discharged
from the hospital went 'back to his old regiment
and took up his commission of second lieutenant.
He was quickly promoted to first lieutenant, and
took command at once. On the third day at Gettys-
burg he was given command of his old company, E,
which he (held until he fell again in front of Spott-
sylvania, May 8, 1864. In June, 1864, he was mus-
tered out of service, and in December of the same
year was married to Miss Mary Allen, of Ohio. The
following year he began the study of law in Cincin-
nati, later entering the Law School. Soon after-
ward he went back to Michigan to sell his property,
and was there induced to run for Sheriff. Declin-
ing a second term, he went on to Kansas City, where
he found a good opportunity to cut timber into ties
and lumber for railroads. Later, he lived for five
years in the new town of Independence, Kansas,
where he served as Probate Judge and City Clerk,
and practiced law. Prom that place he went to
Louisiana, where for eight years he owned the mail
route between Shreveport and Munroe, a distance
of 116 miles.

He now lives in Bellefontaine, Ohio, of which
place he was made Mayor in 1896. Since that time
he has been very lame, not having taken a step for
eleven years.

"Mary D. Emerson Spittle, daughter of Captain
and Mrs. J. D. Emerson, was born in Mendon,

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 85

Louisiana, September 20th, 1877, where her father
was connected with the mail service in Louisiana
and Texas. Owing to her having been born in the
South she was called "Dixie," and many of her
nearest friends knew ner only by this name. She
attended Bellefontaine public schools, acquiring a
thorough knowledge of the branches in Which she
studied. Later, she attended Oxford College, mak-
ing a special study in instrumental music, and upon
her return home, devoted much time to piano and
pipe organ, both of which instruments she handled
with professional skill. Mrs. Spittle was a leader
among the musicians of the city. She was organist
for many years at the Presbyterian Church and her
services upon occasions where classical musical pro-
grams were rendered were much desired, owing
to her popularity as an accompanist and instru-
mental soloist. She was a member of the Presby-
terian Church.

"Mary Douglas Emerson was united in marriage
October 17, 1899, to Fred C. Spittle. Their wedded
life had been a most congenial one. No couple ever
found greater happiness in each other's presence,
and hence no blow could fall with greater force
upon the husband, now bereft of his life's compan-
ion.

"Besides the husband, Mrs. Spittle is survived by
her father and mother, with whom she made her
home, and one brother, Dr. Charles A. Emerson, of
Toledo. Mrs. Spittle's death removed the central
figure of a happy family. She was the pride of the
home circle in which she moved and those who de-
pended upon her presence for their daily store of
happiness sit today in deepest grief."

86 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

The above was quoted from a Bellefontaine, Ohio,
paper of August 31st, 1909.

80.

Edgar Douglas Rickey (7), see No. 25; b. Dec. 19,
1838, Carlisle, Lorain County, Ohio; m. March 2, 1862,
Nancy Pish; b. Oct. 6, 1838. He is a Civil War Veteran;
farmer; residence, Rocky, Oklahoma.

Children.

1. William Edgar Rickey (8), b. Aug. 5, 1864. 120.

2. Burr Allen Rickey (8), b. Oct. 8, 1866. 127.

3. Fanny Eliza Rickey (8), b. Dec. 19, 1870. 128.

4. Edwin Henry Rickey (8), b. Nov. 6, 1879; d. Aug.
16, 1887.

5. Margaret Alice Rickey (8), b. July 21, 1883; Lonoke
County, Ark.

Edgar D. Rickey served in tdie 178th Ohio Vol.
Infantry, Co. D, 1st Division, 3rd Brigade, 23rd
Army Corps, under Generals Thomas and Millroy
at Nashville and Murfreesboro on detached duty. He
went to war in August, 1864, and served until the
close. He was in Washington on the way to his
regiment at Charlotte, N. C, at the time of the
advance of the Army of the Potomac into Washing-
ton, but was not at the review. He has always been
a farmer, excepting while he was a soldier.

81.

Edwin Ruthven Rickey (7), see No. 25; b. Jan. 31,
1842, in Orleans, Mich; m. June 26, 1877, Jennie E.
Woods; b. April 3, 1855. Captain and Veteran of the
Civil War; farmer; residence, Rocky, Oklahoma.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 87

Children.

1. Edna Alice Rickey (8), b. Sept. 1, 1878. 129.

2. W. E. Rickey, b. July 3, 1881.

3. L. Maude Rickey (8), b. April 1, 1889.

Edwin R. Rickey enlisted at the first call far
75,000 men with the 178th Ohio Vol. Infantry, and
his brother, Edgar D. Rickey, served in the same
company. He remained until the close of the war
and was promoted to first ranking captain in his
regiment. He also> formed a part of the Mississippi
Marine Brigade that was organized to break up the
guerrilla bands that interfered with travel on the
Mississippi River.

82.

Alice M. Rickey (7), see No. 25; b. Nov. 5, 1843; in
Carlisle, O., m. Oct. 23, 1867, Alanson Cornell; b. Dec.
29, 1830; d. Aug. 25, 1872; m. Oct. 15, 1873, Eugene
F. Colwell; b. May 26, 1828; d. Feb. 1, 1898.

Children.

1. Guy Webster Cornell (8), b. July 30, 18 68; d. Feb.
19, 1869.

2. Mary Eva Cornell (8), b. Nov. 18, 1870. 130.

Eva Jane Rickey, b. June 12, 1848; m. Nov., 1868,
Luther E. Hall; d. June, 1870.

3. Raymond A. Colwell (8), b. Feb. 26, 1877. 131.

4. Frank R. Colwell (8), b. May 18, 1879; d. May
19, 1879.

83.
Austin Sprague (7), see No. 26; b. Sept. 14, 1843;
m. Sept. 6, 1871, M. Ettie Meach; d. April 4, 1889. He
was a Veteran of the Civil War.

88 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Children.

1. Walter L. Sprague (8), b. Dec. 8, 1874.

2. Nora M. Sprague (8), b. April 4, 1876.

3. Cellie Sprague (8), b. March 4, 1878.

Aiistin Sprague (7), only son of Lucretia Webster
Sprague was a soldier of the Civil War. His array
comrade and future brother-in-law, William P. Lunn,
having furnished the only information obtainable, is
included in this article on their soldier-life. They
enlisted the same day, Aug. 5, 1862, in the same
company of the same regiment, and were each nine-
teen years old. They served through the war and
were each discharged with the regiment, June 3,
1865, at Washington, D. C, having served in the
battles of Perryville, Ky. ; Stone River, Chicamauga,
Avery's Bow, Bentonville, and many other engage-
ments in Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas ia
Gen. Sherman's "March to the Sea," and his swoop
upon Gen. Joe Johnston and his army beyond Ral-
eigh, N. C. What these years of campaigning mean,
over such stretches of space, in all conditions of
weather and supplies, in the face of a determined
foe, must be read between the lines or drawn from
the imagination ; but it cannot be given here. These
hardy Michigan boys went through it all, and only
when the foe surrendered did they turn their faces
homeward. After the Great Reviews at Releigh and
Washington of the wasted but still mighty armies
of the Republic, all who had worn the Blue melted
as the snow, into the pursuits of peaceful life.

84.

Eusebia Sprague (7), see No. 26; b. May 14, 1846;
m. June 24, 1868, William P. Lunn; b. Sept. 30, 1842;

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 89

d. Dec. 29, 1896. Her husband is a Civil War veteran;
farmer; residence Ionia, Mich.

Children.

1. Guy W. Lunn (8), b. Jan. 25, 1872. 133.

2. Ernest Lunn (8), b. June 23, 1874. 134.

3. Bertha Lunn (8), b. Sept. 21, 1884.

85.

Lucretia Sprague (7), see No. 26; b. May 3, 1851;
m. 1875, William W. Sage, b. Oct. 11, 1841.

Children.

1. Edna Sage (8), b. Feb. 3, 1876. 135.

2. Clyde Sage (8), b. March 29, 1878.

3. Effie May Sage (8), b. Aug. 21, 1881. 136.

4. Eusebia Sage (8), b. Sept. 5, 1885. 137.

5. Lulu Sage (8), b. Oct. 30, 1885.

6. Ruby Sage (8), b. Jan. 3, 1889.

7. Pearl Sage (8), b. March 2, 1890.

8. Leta Sagve (8), b. Dec. 5, 1896.

86.

Caroline Elizabeth Reynolds (7), see No. 28; b. Jan.
25, 1849; m. March 27, 1872, Dr. Frank H. Thomas, b.
May, 1848.

Child.

1. Marie Louise Thomas (8), b. Dec. 17, 1872. 138.

87.

Lillian Mason Reynolds (7), see No 28; b. July 12,
1854; m. June 30, 1883, Wellington F. Smart; b. Jan.
13, 1851. Residence, Winchester and Boston, Mass. N.
Eng. Mgr. R. Hoe & Co., of N. Y. City.

90 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Children.

1. Thomas Vera Smart, b. March 31, 1888; d. Aug. 5,
1891.

2. Ruth Smart (8), b. Sept. 20, 1889.

3. Hazel Smart (8), b. Aug. 14, 1892.

88.

Howard Reynolds (7), see No. 28; b. May 19, 1868;
m. June 28, 1899, Charlotte Elizabeth Mason, b. Sept.
23, 1866. He is a representative of R. Hoe & Co., of
N. Y. City.

Children.

1. Paul Howard Reynolds (8), b. July 11, 1905.

2. Philip Mason Reynolds (8), b. July 23, 1906.

89.

Porter Oviatt Clark (7), see No. 29; b. June 12, 1851;
in Medina, Ohio; m. March 5, 1891, Alicia Witter. Re-
sides in Medina, Ohio.

Children.

1 Arthur Seymour Clark (8), b. Sept. 28, 1892.

2. Howard Cyrus Clark (8), b. Dec. 7, 1893.

3. Harriet Emily Clark (8), b. Feb. 6, 1895.

4. Eleanor Elizabeth Cl^rk (8), b. June 22, 1900.

5. Mary Alicia Clark (8), b. May 1, 1903.

90.

Arthur Lucius Clark (7), see No. 29; b. March 12,
1858, in Medina, Obio; m. Aug. 9, 1881, Kate J. Mil-
ler, who died Feb. 2, 1887; m. June 3, 1890, Jennie
L. Hallett, b. Feb. 3, 1863. He is a merchant and bank-
er. Residence, Winsted, Conn.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 91

Children.

1. Helen Louise Clark (8), b. Sept. 25, 1893.

2. Hallett Franklin Clark (8), b. July 31, 1896.

91.
Franklin Joshua Clark (7), see No. 29; b. March 24,
1860, in Medina, Ohio; m. March 23, 1887, Bertha War-
ner, b. May 17, 1860. Resides in Medina.

Children.

1. Katharine Clark (8), b. Jan. 16, 1888.

2. Walter R. Clark (8), b. Oct. 7, 1889.

3. Franklin W. Clark (8), b. Sept. 16, 1891.

4. Marjory Clark (8), b. Nov. 15, 1893.

92.

Emma Adelaide Mason (7), see No. 31; b. Jan. 10,

1854, in Litchfield, Conn.; m. Nov. 8, 1882, Frank A.
Shepard, b. 1853, who d. Jan. 25, 1901; d. March 2,
1909.

Child.

1. Lela A. Shepard (8), b. Nov. 11, 1883; d. April 26,
1897.

93.

Lillie Emeline Mason (7), see No. 31; b. Aug. 23,
1856, in Northampton, Mass.; m. Feb. 19, 1883, William
A. Strong; residence, Brooklyn, in. Y.

Child.

1. Clarence Mason Strong (8), b. April 13, 1884.

94.

Elliott Bruce Mason (7), see No. 31; b. April 12,

1864, in New Haven, Conn.; m. March 31, 1891, Mary

E. Marsh, b. May 12, 1865. Farmer; resides in Litch-
field, Conn.

92 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

95.

Clara Mason (7), see No. 33; b. April 5, 1867, in
Sacramento, Cal.; m. Feb. 14, 1891, T. B. Misley.

Children.

1. Hazel Adele Misley (8), b. Feb. 14, 1892.

2. Bud Misley (8), b. Feb. 22, 1896.

96.

Nettie Mason (7), see No. 33; b. June 16, 1871, in
Sacramento, Cal.; m. March 17, 1894, Schuyler Mitchell.

Child.

1. Alice Mitchell (8), b. April 12, 1895.

97.

Charles Mason (7), see No. 33; b. Sept. 25, 1872, «n
Sacramento, Cal.; m. April 6, 1896, May Marling.

Children.

1. Olive Mason (8), b. Sept. 10, 1897.

2. Ruth Mason (8), b. Nov. 16, 1903.

98.

Ella Mason (7), see No. 33; b. Oct. 24, 1874, id
Sacramento, Cal.; m. May 21, 1891, Thomas Smith.

Children.

1. Noel M. Smith (S), b. May 22, 1892.

2. Addie Smith (8), b. Dec. 14, 1893; d. Dec. 30,
1893.

3. Thomas Smith (8), b. June 24, 1895; d. July 14,
1895.

4. George Dewey Smith (8), b. Feb. 28, 1897.

5. Lawrence Frank Smith (8), b. May 10, 1898; tl.
Feb. 14, 1903.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 93

99.

Elijah T. Mason (7), see No. 33; b. Feb. 21, 1878,
in Sacramento, Cal.; m. July 4, 1900, Delia Canton.

100.

Cora Lynn Holcomb (7), see No. 34; b. Jan. 16, 1857,
in Prairieville, Mich.; m. Dec. 21, 1880, James Chap-
man; b. Sept. 3, 1850.

101.

Arabella Holcomb (7), see No. 34; b. June 5, 1858,
in Prairieville, Mich.; m. 1885, David W. Shephard;
b. 1859.

102.

Frances Adelaide Holcomb (7), see No. 34; b. Jan.

18, 1862, in Prairieville, Mich.; m. Aug. 30, 1887, Henry
Beardsley Preston, b. May 27, 1857; physician, Toledo,
Ohio.

103.

Bruce Mason Holcomb (7), see No. 34; b. Aug. 14,
1866, in Prairieville, Mich.; m. Dec. 21, 1888, Jennie

McDonald, b. Nov. 24, 1868.

Children.

1. Gerald Mason Holcomb (8), b. July 22, 1893.

2. Clara Alga Holcomb, (8), b. Nov. 26, 1896.

3. Joy Adelaide Holcomb (8), b. Sept. 15, 1898.

4. Bruce Gordon Holcomb {Xj, b. June 13, 1903.

104.

Morse Edwin Nevins (7), see No. 37; b. Sept. 9, 1856,
in Hastings, Mich.; m. May 5, 1886, Nettie Maples, b.
Nov. 8, 1865. Home in Hastings.

94 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Children.

1. John Chester Nevins (8), b. March 26, 1887; d.
Feb. 14, 1891.

2. Messer Edwin Nevins (8), b. July 7, 1894.

105.

Eva Clarissa Nevins (7), see No. 37; b. May 4, 1859,
in Hastings, Mich.; m. May 18, 1887, Alonzo E. Kenas-
ton; b. Nov. 6, 1856. Lawyer^

Children.

1. Edwin Nevins Kenaston (8), b. Sept. 15, 1890; d.
Sept. 15, 1891.

2. Leeland Robert Kenaston (8), b. Dec. 29, 1891.

106.

Ann Cynthia Nevins (7), see No. 37; b. Aug. 2S,
1861, in Hastings, Mich.; m. Jan. 23, 1889, Themas
D. Campbell, b. March 20, 1865.

Children.

1. Donald Campbell (8), b. Dec. 2, 1889.

2. Lewis Nixon Campbell (6), b. March 9, 1891;
d. Nov. 14, 1891.

3. Morse Campbell (8), b. Nov. 22, 1896.

107.

Mason Cornelius Nevins (7). see No. 37, b. May 14,

1868, in Hastings, Mich.; m. Oct. 21, 1896, Grace J.
Johnson, b. Jan. 10, 1877; d. April 17, 1901; m. May
5, 1903, Adeline J. Wilson, b. Nov. 20, 1882. Capital-
ist, Wichita, Kansas.

Child.

1. Clarissa Nevins (8), b. July 31, 1904, at Wichita,
Kansas.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 95

108.

Grace J. Mason (7), see i\o. 38; b. Sept. 21, 1852,
in Richland, Mich.; m. March 18, 1871, Conrad Miller;
b. Oct. 29, 1848; wood and coal merchant at Kala-
mazoo, Mich.

Children.

1. Clarence Miller (8), b. March 21, 1876.

2. Minnie Miller (8), b. Jan. 19, 1883; m. Oct. 16,
1907, Edwin Kline Belt. 139.

3. Mason Slater Miller (8), b. June 9, 1889, m. Cor-
nelia Boekeloo, b. Oct. 19, 1892.

109.

Ida F. Mason (7), see No. 38; b. April 14, 1854, in
Richland, Mich.; m. Sept. 20, 1887, Oscar D. Barnes, b.
Jan. 30, 1853. Resides in Wichita, Kansas.

Children.

i.. Winnie May Barnes (8), b. Dec. 11, 1880; m. March
2, 1908, Chester Dale Shelley, b. Aug. 27, 1881.

2. Maurice Peck Barnes, (8), b. March 24, 1883; m.
Feb. 12, 1908, Augusta Martha Hurst; b. Oct. 1,
1883, in Peoria, 111.

3. Adelaide Barnes (8), b. June 12, 189 2.

110.

Mary A. Mason (7), see No. 38; b. May 7, 1858, in
Richland, Mich.; m. Oct. 6, 1875, Columbus Backus;
d. 1877.

Child.

1. Wesley Backus (8), b. June 13, 1877; m. Aug. 20,
1906, Frances Amelia Bailey. 140.

96 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

111.

Robert Guy Mason (7) see No. 38; b. July 18, 1864,
in Richland, Mich.; m. Dec. 4, 1889, Flora Gibson, b.
Aug 3 0, 1867. Residence, Richland, Mich.

Child.

1. Claude (8), b. May 31, 1891.

112.

Edith Clarissa Mason (7), see No. 38; b. Nov. 28,
1868, in Richland, Mich.; m. Sept. 4, 1890, Charles W.
Granger, b. Oct 31, 1854. Resides in State of Washing-
ton.

Children.

1. Mary Frances Granger (o), b. June 15, 1891.

2. Lewis B. Granger (8), b. Dec. 31, 1893.

3. Cornelius C. Granger (8), b. Nov. 23, 1896.

4. Edwin Rix Granger (8), b. March 6, 1899.

5. William L. Granger (8), b. May 26, 1901.

6. Grace Mason Granger (8), b. Aug. 19, 1903.

7. Lela Ida Granger (8), b. March 6, 190 6.

113.

Bernice Storms (7), see No. 40; b. March 10, 1873,
at Plain well, Mich.; m. April 11, 1895, Nathaniel Balch,
b. Feb. 18, 1867. Resides in La Grange, Ind.

114.

Floyd Olmsted (7), see No. 41; b. Nov. 30, 1874, in
Galesburg, Miich. ; m. Sept. 2, 19 03, Margaret J. Boy-
den, b. July 13, 1878. Residence, Kalamazoo, Mich.

115.

Franklin Burr Mason (7), see No. 42; b. March 7,
185 7, in Litchfield Conn.; m. March 30, 1880, An.ia

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 97

Cornelia Coe, b. March 30, 1861; d. Oct. 17, 1901. Gen.
Mgr. Prudential Ins. Co., Connecticut. Secretary, Litch-
field Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
Child.

1. Edith Julia Mason (8), b. Nov. 15, 1884, in Litch-
field, Conn.; m. Nov. 15, 1907, Dr. Clarence J.
Ramsay; b. Sept. 15, 1879. Residence, Litchfield,
Conn.

116.

Charlotte Elizabeth Mason (7), see No. 42; b. Sept.
23, 1866, in Litchfield, Conn.; m. June 28, 1899, How-
ard Reynolds; b. May 19, 1868. Residence, Litchfield,
Conn.

Children.

1. Paul Howard Reynolds (8), b. July 11, 1905.

2. Philip Mason Reynolds (8), b. July 23, 1906.

117.

George Edwin Mason (7), see No. 42; b. July 19,
1870, in Litchfield, Conn.; m. Jan. 17, 1894, Harriet
Estelle Bunnell; b. March 7, 1872. Carpenter; resi-
dence, Litchfield, Conn.

Children.

1. Frederic Osborn Mason (8), b. Nov. 8, 1894.

2. Gertrude Elizabeth Mason (8), b. July 20, 1899;
d. April 23, 1903.

3. Charlotte Harriet Mason (8), b. Oct. 31, 1904.

118.

Lonis Adelbert Mason (7), see No. 43; b. Jan. 18,
1864, in Washington, Conn.; m. May 22, 1895, Ella M.
Thayer, .b March 24, 1867. Farmer; residence Wash-
ington, Conn.

98 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Children.

1. Charles Thayer Mason (8), b. July 10, 1896.

2. Mai vina Phinette Mason (8), b. March 15, 1898.

119.

Gertrude Charlotte Churchill (8), see No. 46; b. Feb.

3. 1867, in North field, Conn.; m. September 10, 1890,
Corydan Griswold.

Children.

1. Julia Griswold (9), b. Feb. 13, 1892.

2. Homer Griswold, (9), b. March 13, 1894; d. Jan.
3, .1895.

3. Walter Griswold (9), b. Sept. 28, 1898.

4. Hobert Griswold (9), b. Sept. 11, 1901.

120.

Anna Lucretia Churchill (8), see No. 46; b. Sept. 24,
1870, in Northfield, Conn.; m. Feb. 26, 1895, Delos

D. Piatt of Shelton, Conn.

Children.

1. Clayton Churchill Piatt (9), b. Oct. 2, 1896.

2. Richard Orville Piatt (9), b. June 19, 1898.

121.

Elizabeth Kasson Churchill (8), see No. 46; b. Aug.
1, 1874, in Northfield, Conn.; m. Sept. 22, 1898, George

E. Pratt; b. Feb. 22, 1871. Residence, Buffalo, N. Y.

Children.

1. Harold Samuel Pratt (9), b. July 23, 1899.

2. Mary Allen Pratt (8), b. Dec. 24, 1900.

3. Ralph Wilbur Pratt (9), b. March 24, 1903.

4. George Elmer Pratt (9), b. Jan. 26, 1906.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 99

122.

Edna Gertrude Mallory (8), see No. 47; b. March 27,
1859, in Bridgewater, Conn.; m. June 2, 1905, Samuel
P. Hayes, of Bethlehem, Conn.; farmer.

123.

Robert Clinton Mallory (8), see No. 47; b. May 28,

1864, in Bridgewater, Conn.; m. March 24, 1891, Fanny
Fenn Keeler. Home in New Milford.

Children.

1. Bertha Ophelia Mallory (9), b. Jan. 12, 1892.

2. Clinton Burr Mallory (9), b. March 18, 1893; d.
Aug. 5, 1899.

3. Mildred Keeler Mallory (9), b. Feb. 12, 1895.

4. Lois Eleanor Mallory (9), b. April 29, 1896.

5. Ethel Louise Mallory (9), b. July 16, 1903.

124.

Genevieve Thekla Sanford ^8), see No. 48; b. March
18, 1872, in Bridgewater, Conn.; m. June 9, 1897, Rev.
William W. Wallace of Madura, India.

Children, born in India.

1. Donald Sanford Wallace (9), b. April 16, 1900.

2. Abigail Janette Wallace (9), b. Jan. 4, 1902.

3. William Stanford Wallace (9), b. Jan. 6, 1903.

4. Gerald Sanford Wallace (9), b. May, — 1904.

5. Genevieve Janica Wallace (i> ) , b. May, — 1904.

125.

Mary Turner Hall, (8), see No. 57; b. Feb. 1, 1877;
m. Dec. 29, 1899, George Shaw. Resides in Illinois.

126.

William Edgar Rickey (8), see No. 80; b. Aug. 5,
1864.; m. Feb. 19, 1893, Lillie Osborn, b. Feb. 19,
1874.

100 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Child.

1. Lloyd Rickey (9), b. Sept. 21, 1894; d. Sept. 2, 1895.

127.

Burr Allen Rickey (8), see No. 80; b. Oct. 8, 1868;
m. Nov. 15, 1891, Nettie Meek, b. Nov. 24, 1869.

Children.

1. Janie May Rickey (9), b. May 12, 1893.

2. Ruby Olive Rickey (9), b. Nov. 16, 1894.

3. Earl Allen Rickey (9), b. March 5, 1896.

4. Bessie Ada Rickey (9), b. Jan. 5. 1898.

5. John William Rickey (9), b. Feb. 21, 1899.

6. Viola Rickey (9), b. Oct. 8, 1900.

7. Edgar Ray Rickey (9), b. May 24, 1903.

128.

Fanny Eliza Rickey (8) see No. 80; b. Dec. 19, 1870;
m. July 7, 1890, Clarence L. McLaughlin, b. Dec. 3,
1869.

Child.

1. Robert Doughlass McLaughlin (9), b. June 21, 1891.

129.

Edna Alice Rickey (8), see No. 81; b. Sept. 1, 1878;
m. May 23, 1901, A. H. Derrington, b. March, 1878.

Children.

1. Paul A. Derrington (9), b. March 15, 1902.

2. Hollis Hugo Derrington (9), b. Aug. 17, 1903.

3. Jean E. Derrington (9), b. Jan. 2, 1905.

4. Lyle A. Derrington (9), b. Sept. 21, 1906.

130.

May Eva Cornell (8) see No. 82; b. Nov. 18, 1870;
m. Nov. 26, 1891, William H. McCartney, b. Sept. 19,
1863.

MIASON- WEBSTER LINEAGE 101

Children.

1. William Cornell McCartney (9), b. Aug. 26, 1892.

2. Alice J. McCartney (9), b. Aug. 29, 1893.

3. Grace M. McCartney (9), b. May 26, 1895.

4. Arthur Hale McCartney (9), b. May 4, 1898.

131.

Raymond A. Colwell (8), see No. 82; b. Feb. 26, 1877;
at Detroit; m. June 29, 1904, Cora Bradlaw, b. Feb. 7,
1880. Lawyer, Lake Odessa, Mich.

Child.

1. Margaret Colwell (9), b. March 9, 1906.

132.

Clellie Sprague (8), see No. 83; b. March 4, 1878;
m. Sept. 26, 1901, Ray Hoover, who d. July 20, 1903.

133.

Guy W. Lunn (8), see No. 84; b. Jan. 25, 1878; m.
Feb. 2, 1907, Louisa Mae Weaver, b. Oct. 23, 1879.

134.

Ernest Lunn (8), see No. 84; b. July 23, 1874; m.
Dec. 19, 1901, Rose Maier, b. Dec. 24, 1873.

135.

Edna Sage (8), see No. 85; b. Feb. 3, 1876; m. 1892,
Albert Palmer; b. 1874; m. 1904, Tony Anderson; b.
1853.

Children.

1. Hazel J. Palmer (9), b. Dec. 20, 1894.

2. Alva Palmer (9), b. Dec. 24, 1902.

3 William S. Palmer (9), b. Jan. 25, 1904.

102 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

136.

Kffie Mae Sage (8), see No. 85; b. Aug. 21, 1881; m.
April 15, 1905, Elmer A. Green; b. Dec. 1, 1878.

137.

Eusebia Sage (8), see No. 8o; b. Sept. 5, 1883; to.
Jan. 5, 1904, W. M. Barton; b. Nov. 27, 1869.

Child.

1. Bertha Barton (9), b. Dec. 13, 1905.

138.

Marie Louise Thomas (8), see No. 86; b. Dec. 17, 1872

m. March 27, 1894, Mortimer Inglis, of Paterson, N. J.;
b. Jan. 15, 1869.

Children.

1. James Inglis (9), b. March 23, 1896.

2. Palmer Inglis (9), b. Feb. 2 7, 1897.

3. Stuart Inglis (9), b. Aug. 10, 1901.

4. Mortimer Inglis (9), b. Aug. 14, 1907.

139.

Minnie Miller (8), see No. 108; b. Jan. 19, 1883; m
Oct. 16, 1907, Edwin Kline Belt.

140.

Wesley Bachus (8), see No. 110; b. June 13, 1877;
m. Aug. 20, 1906, Frances Amelia Bailey.

WEBSTER ANCESTORS

OF

LUCRETIA MASON

INCLUDING

FIVE GENERATIONS OF DESCENT FROM

THE EARLIEST EMIGRANT

OF THE NAME TO

CONNECTICUT

1636

GOV. JOHN WEBSTER. — of Hartford and Hadley.

Born probably in Norfolk, Eng. ; m. Agnes

■who outlived him; buried April 5, 1661, in Hadley,

Mass.

Children.

1. Matthew (2), made freeman in Hartford in 1643;
removed to Farmington as early as 1699, where he died
July 16, 1675, leaving a wife, a daughter, and a son
John.

2. William (2), removed to Hadley with his father;
married on Feb. 17, 1670, Mary, daughter of Thomas
Reeve, of Springfield. She was accused of withcraft
and taken to Boston under arrest for trial, but was
finally acquitted in 1688. She died in 1696. He died
about 168 8, leaving no children.

3. Thomas (2), settled in Northampton, Mass., where
he was married June 16, 1663, to Abigail, daughter of
George Alexander, of that town; removed to North-
field, Mass., in 1/74; was driven away by Indians about
a year later; lived a short time in Hadley, then returned
to Northfield, where she died in 1686. His wife died
March 1690. Three of his children settled in Lebanon,
Conn.

4. Robert (2), See family II.

5. Anne (2), married John Marsh of Hartford and
Hadley and died June 9, 1662.

6. Elizabeth (2), married William Markham as his
second wife and is said to have died in 1688. Gov.
John Webster in his will mentions her as his "daughter
Marcam."

i. Mary (2), married Jonathan Hunt of North-
ampton, Mass.

106 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

Gov. John Webster was in Hartford as early ^s
1636. He no doubt, came with ■the first settlers from
Massachusetts Bay. He is said to have been pre-
viously of Norfolk County, Eng. In the first record
of Hartford lands he is entered as an original pro-
prietor. His house-lot was on what is now Gover-
nor Street, which was then "the road from Wil-
liam Hills to the ox pasture." William Whiting,
merchant, was his next neighbor on the north. Gov.
Thomas Wells was his next neighbor on the South,
while across the street stood the house of George
Wyllys, and the Charter Oak. Governor Webster wis
a prominent man in two colonies. In Hartford h&
was magistrate from 1639 to 1655. At the last dare
he was made deputy governor and the next year
governor. In 1642 he was one of the committee who
formed the code of criminal laws for the Colony,
and in 1654 he was a Commissioner for the United
Colonies. He was active in town affairs, influen-
tial in the churoh, and evidently took great interest
in the controversies which gave rise to the Second
Church, Hartford, and which led to the emigration
to Hadley. In this last movement he was a leader.
He was in Hadley as early as 1659. Here, as in
Connecticut, he was active and prominent. He was
made a freeman of Massachusetts March 26, 1660,
and in May of the same year was made magistrate.
The next year he died in Hadley and was buried
April 5, 1661. His fellow citizens evidently valued
him highly. His descendants will do well to bear
in mind and to emulate his life and deeds.

MIASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 107

II.

LIEUT ROBERT WEBSTER, (Gov. John), of Middle-
town and Hartford.

Born probably in England; m. about 1652, Susannah,
daughter of Richard Treat and sister of Gov. Robert
Treat; d. 1676, in Hartford.

Children.

1. John (3), b. Nov. 10, 1653, at Middletown. Conn.;
m. Sarah Mygatt.

2. Sarah (3), b. June 3, 1655, at Middletown, Conn.;
m. Joseph Mygatt and Bevil Waters.

3. Jonathan (3), b. Jan. 9, 1657, at Middletown, Conn.
See Family III.

4. Susannah (3), b. Oct. 28, 1858, at Middletown,
Conn.; m. John Grave.

5 Samuel (3), b. at Hartford, Conn.; m. Elizabeth
Reeve.

6 Robert (3), b. at Hartford; m. Hannah Buckley,
widow Sarah Colfax, and Susannah Baker.

7. Joseph (3), b. at Hartford; m. Mary Judd and
widow Hannah Baker.

8. Mary (3), b. at Hartford; m. Thomas King.

9. Benjamin (3), bap. May 1, 1670, Second Church,
Hartford.

10. William (3), bap. July 2, 1671, Second Church,
Hartford; m. Sarah Nichols.

11. Elizabeth (3), bap. Feb. 8, 1673, Second Church,
Hartford; m. John Seymore, Jr.,

In 1654 the General Assembly of Connecticut con-
firmed Robert Webster, Lieutenant of Middletown
Train Band — "according to the motion of the town."
He was elected Recorder of that town as early as
1656 and was Deputy to the General 'Assembly in
1656. In 1672 the General Assembly granted him
300 acres of land, which was laid out to him April

108 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

25, 1706, in the Nipmuck County, east of tine Quin-
nebaug river and south of Woodstock. The record
does not state for what service this grant was made.
Lieut. Robert Webster was a first settler in Middle-
town, about 1650, but returned to Hartford about
1660. He was made freeman in 1669, at which time
he was living on the "South Side," Hartford. He
was evidently the most prominent of all the sons
of Gov. John Webster.

III.

Jonathan Webster (3), Lieut. Robert 2, Gov. John 1;
of Hartford; b. Jan. 9, 1657, in Middletown, Conn.; m.
May 11, 1681, Dorcas Hopkins, who died in 1694; m.
Jan. 2, 1696, Mary Judd; d. 1735, in Hartford, "aged
78 years."

Children, all recorded in Hartford.

1. Jonathan (4), b. March 18, 1682; m. Esther Judd,
Dec. 4, 1704.

2. Samuel (4), bap. Feb. 17, 1683-4; Second Church,
Harford.

3. Susannah (4), b. April 25, 1686; m. Thomas Steele.

4. Mary (4), b. Sept. 29, 1688; m. John Brace or
Bracy.

5. Mehitabel (4), b. March 8, 1690-1; m. David Bid-
well.

6. Stephen (4), b. Jan. 1, 1692; m. Mary Burnham.

7. Benjamin (4), b. Aug. 9, 1698. See Family IV.

Jonathan Webster (3) has few records. He was
probably a quiet retiring, correct citizen who reared
his family well and attended to his own business.
Such men are valuable, but not prominent.

MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE 109

IV.

Benjamin Webster (4), Jonathan 3, Lieut. Robert 2,
Gov. John 1; of Litchfield; b. Aug. 9, 1698, in Hartf mi,
Conn. — "The only son of his mother;" m. Elizabeth
Peck; b. Dec. 31, 1706, in Hartford; d. July 10, 1755,
in Litchfield, Conn.

Children.

1. Elijah (5), b. Dec. 28, 1732; d. Aug. 13, 1854.

2. James (5), b. June 2, 1734; d. July 30, 1754.

3. Benjamin (5), b. Dec. 8, 1736. See Family V.

4. Stephen (5), b. May 20, 1739; m. Honor Kilbourne.
5 Elizabeth (5), b. Jan. 23, 1741; m. Capt. Solomon
Marsh.

6. Charles (5), b. March 19, 1743; m. Rhoda Kilbourne

7. Jobn (5), b. April 3 1747.

Benjamin "Webster (4), was one of the pioneer
settlers of Litchfield, Conn. In 1744 he was made
Lieutenant of the Second Company of Litchfield
Train Bands. He was a French War soldier, hav-
ing served as private 14 days in Capt. Buel's Litch-
field Company, of Connecticut Militia, which march-
ed to the relief of Ft. William Henry, Aug. 17, 1757.

V.

Benjamin Webster (5), Benjamin 4, Jonathan 3, Lieut.
Robert 2, Gov. John 1, of Litchfield; b. Dec. 8, 1736,
in Litchfield, Conn.; m. Lucretia Buel; b. April 26,
1742; d. Oct. 29, 1755, (by Probate Record) in Litch-
field, Conn.

Children, born in Litchfield.

1. Elijah (6), b. March 19, 1761.

2. Avis (6), b. April 20, 1763; m. Elon Crampton.

110 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

3. Lucietia (6), b. Feb. 14, 1766; m. Elisha Mason.
See No. 4.

4. Benamin (6), b. Feb. 10, 17 69; m. Avis Hotehkiss.

5. Claudius (6), b. Aug. 27, 1772.

6. Dan (6), b. Jan. 23, 1776.

7. Louden (6), b. March 3, 1780.
P. Polly (6), b. Feb. 3, 1783.

Of the Grandchildren who lived contemporane-
ously with, and most of whom saw Elisha and Lu-
cretia Mason, only these remain at this date, Feb-
ruary 15, 1911 :

Elizabeth 0. Reynolds, 87.
Harriett 0. Clark, 84.
Cornelius Mason, 82.
Joshua N. Oviatt, 78.
George W. Mason, 78.
Henrietta C. Mason, 77.
D. Adelaide Webster, 77.
*E. Porter Mason, 69.
Betsey Ann Storms, 69.
Edward B. Mason, 65.
Cornelia C. Olmsted, 64.

Of Caroline, 3 ;— Joseph W., 1 ; Elijah, 1 ; Edwin,
3; Benjamin, 3 — total 11.

Surviving Veterans of Civil War, February 15, 1911.
Captain Joshua D. Emerson, Oapt. E. Porter Ma-
son* (deceased), Edgar D. Rickey, Capt. George W.
Mason and Capt, Edwin R. Rickey.

The early settlements of New England, in which
our family name appears in general history, began
about Boston and consisted of "The Winthrop
Company, ' ' with which came Robert Mason, b. 1590.
Math wife, sons and grandsons to Roxbury in 1630.
About 1642, these all, excepting the wife named.

*E. Porter Mason died March 4, 1911.

112 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

removed to the new settlement at Dedham, Mass.
The same year, 1630, the ship "Mary and John
arrived at Dorchester, bringing refugee officers —
Miles Standish, John Mason, and others, afterward
famous in the Colonial Indian Wars of Massachu-
setts and Connecticut. Also about this date Capt.
Hugh Mason began the settlement at Watertown,
Mass., and somewhat later Sampson Mason joined
him there. These Colonists seem to have spread
Northward and Westward in Massachusetts, while
Capt. John drifted into Connecticut and became the
most famous of all. These four families have very
complete genealogical books in public libraries from
an early period and especially for the period which is
of interest to us. On July 27, 1635, Thomas Mason
came from Gravesend, ship "Penrose", a boy of 19
years, appearing at length in Hartford, where he
lived for many years. He purchased land of Capt
John when the latter went to Norwich in 1647; him-
self removing to Northampton, Mass., in 1654, where
he died about 1672-3, having only one son, who was
killed by the Indians in 1675. From the four firs*
named families, all the earlier generations of the
name in Massachusetts and Connecticut seem to have
sprung, and ours nowhere appears. Beginning with
the records of this book, we have here a record and
history of our own, definitely traced, from the mar-
riage in Dedham, 1676, to the latest page thereof,
which is believed to include the entire muster-roll
to the year of Our Lord 1908, excepting only, the
three Farrs of Oberlin, Ohio, missing since the Civil
War.

This includes only the lineal descent of our first

MASON- WEBSTER LINEAGE 113

three generations of Masons, John, Joseph, and
Joseph 2d. The collateral branches of these appear
only as part of our part of the family history (and
followed up to the same date) would doubtless
many times outnumber us. In the book of Robert
Mason one seems to be among his own people.
He had a son John three years younger than
the John, of the Dedham wedding, and it ap-
pears as good as true, that the home of Uncle (?)
Robert was the objective point of this young man's
thought, on leaving England. At any rate he got
to Dedham, and took Hannah Hawes with him to
Hartford, as has been shown.

Whether these Dedham Masons knew of the pre-
vious life of Capt. John and Thomas Mason in Con-
necticut, is not known, but the land on Little River,
heretofore described, is suspiciously near to that
bought of the Pequot Captain by Thomas Mason,
thirty years before and sold a few years later. In
this connection it may be stated, that a descendant
of the Litchfield Colonist, of 1720, is now possessed
of relics, or souvenirs, which have come down the
generations, as treasured memorials of the Great
Man of his period in Connecticut, which are reputed
and believed to have been worn and used by him
in his service in the Mother country in troublous
times.

This article is not family history, nor is it romance,
but is intended to throw a ray of light upon the
condition of the times. Allusion has been made to
the death of Thomas Mason's only son at North-
ampton. Returning to Dedham, we find that about
1650 the town of Medfield was sliced off therefrom,

114 MASON-WEBSTER LINEAGE

and the sons of Robert Mason occupied a part of it.
Thomas, the oldest, and his two boys with him, were
killed by Indians one morning between the house
and stable, and so it was found all through the set'
tlements of Massachusetts that ever and anon, fire,
tomahawk and scalping-knife swept over and deci-
mated these early homes towards Deerfield, Green-
field, Hadley and in all directions

In Connecticut, after Maj. John Mason and Capts.
Gardner and Underbill had tutored the Pequots,
there was comparative security. Had this fact much
or little, or nothing to do with the emigration of our
grandparents (of some degree) from Dedham to
Hartford, as has been before shown?

So here we leave the story of this "man of mys-
tery" for a future hunter, and perhaps a distant
day. He should start at Boston, whetting his zeal
by the same route that our Imigrant took, in reverse,
and if lucky, in a couple of weeks bring back for
the next edition the whole history of the man which
we have spent these years to miss.

^trap ^otes

From Boston books :

"First of the name Mason is Robert Le Mason
(Massen) of Norwich, Norfolk, England. His son
gave the advowson of the church at St. Bartholo-
mew at Windham about the year 1300.

Among the landed gentry mentioned by Burke
are several families of Masons, all having coats of
arms."

"Burke's County Gen." lists a Mason family of
Monketon, coming from the Isle of Thanet, Kent,
having a coat of arms. The description of this coat
of arms borne by Thomas Mason of Monketon:
"Per pale or and sa, a cihevron between three bil-
lets, all countercharged. Motto, Demeure par la
verite. "

This appears: "An English Squire of Stafford-
shire (Mason) had three sons, all of whom emigrated
to America about the year 1630."

Again: "Robert of Roxbury, Captain Hugh of
Watertown and Captain John of Dorchester, each is
said to have arrived about 1630, the date and name
of the last-named being given, and each having,
apparently, a complete and continuous printed book
of history and record of many generations, as also
is given in manuscript of wonderful penmanship
concerning Hugh."

116 MASON- WEBSTER LINEAGE

Daniel G. Mason (according to tradition in fam-
ily), established connection of the Medfield Masons
with a Mason family in England, having a coat of
arms described as follows: "Per pale or and sa, a
chevron between three mason squares, all counter-
charged. Crest, a stag's head erased, sa attired or,
ducally gorged gold."

Conclusion

And now, dear Cousins, all : —

This enterprise, begun a century too late, after
difficulties and delays quite unexpected, nears
the end. There are more of us than Ave have
dreamed of, and both ends were further off! But
disappointing as it may be, it is still better than
nothing, or the little, so far enjoyed! — If, from the
view-point of some later adventurer in this field,
there shall be needed some material and well-au-
thenticated facts concerning the history of this now
numerous family, on which to build a record of its
growth to that period, here is offered this little book,
of value, chiefly, for its collection and exhibit of a
fairly complete enumeration of all the members of
our family of Masons in America, from the begin-
ning, 1676 to 1908.

For the omissions, errors and imperfections which
may appear herein, we bespeak the reader's most
patient indulgence. In this spirit, this work is seat
forth, in the hope that it will fill, in part, a vacant
place and become a potent factor in promoting love
of kindred and a closer fellowship in the time to
come.

anbex

ABBOTT, Anna A. L.

77

HOLLISTER, Fitz Gree

n 52

Betsey E.
Caroline M.
Louisa E.
Lucretia Alsina
Marcia A.

75
72
73
71
76

HUMPHREY, John
Miary

Robert Phelps
John, Jr.

18
64
65
66

Sylvester E.

78

KASSON, Deborah

Webster W.

74

McCall

48

Eleanor Maria

47

BACKUS, Wesley

140

Elizabeth Hull

50

CHURCHILL, Anna
Lucretia
Elizabeth Kasson

120
121

Lucy Margaret
Ralph Wilbur
William Turner

46
49
51

Gertrude Charlotte

119

LUNN, Ernest

134

CLARK, Arthur Lucius 90

Guy W.

133

Franklin Joshua

91

MALLORY, Edna

122

Porter Oviatt

89

Robert Clinton

123

COLWELL, Raymond

MASON Benjamin

A.

131

Webster

13

CORNELL, Mary Eva

130

Betsey Ann
Caroline

40
8

EMERSON, Josiah D.

79

Cornelia C.

41

HALL, Mary Turner

125

Charles
Charles Hubert

97
43

HASKELL, Henry

Charlotte Elizabeth

116

Marsh

68

Clara

95

Mary Catharine

69

Cornelius

38

Stephen Mason

67

Cynthia

5

William Lincoln

70

Cynthia Adeline

32

Adelaide Demelia

34

HOLCOMB, Arabella

101

Ebenezer Porter

21

Bruce Mason

103

Ebenezer Porter

44

Cora Lynn

100

Edward Benjamin

45

Frances Adelaide

102

Edith Clarissa

112

INDEX

Edwin
Elijah
Elijah F.
Elijah T.
Elisha
Elisha
Elisha

Elliott Bruce
Ella

Eloise M.
Emma Adelaide
Franklin Burr
George Edwin
George William
Grace J.
Hobert Guy
Ida F.
John
Joshua
Joshua
Joseph
Joseph

Joseph William
Laura Tallmadge
Laura T.
Lillie Emeline
Louis Adelbert
Louisa Webster
Lucretia
Maria
Mary A.
Nettie
Stephen
MILLER, Minnie

NEVINS, Ann
Cynthia
Eva Clarissa
Mason Cornelius
Miorse Edwin

OLMSTED, Floyd

12

10

33

99

4

9

31

94

98

36

92

115

117

42

108

111

109

1

14

35

2

3

11

22

93

118

23

7

37

110

96

6

139

106
105
107
104
114

OViATT, Elizabeth

Mason 28

Harriet 29

Joshua Newell 30

PIERPONT, Edward

Sherman 55

James 5 9

J. Newton 56

John 60

Leonard 5 3

Lucy 58

Mary Hooker 57

Walter b4

REYNOLDS, Caroline

Elizabeth 86

Howard S8

Lillian M. 87

RICKEY, Alice M. 82

Burr Allen 127

Edgar Douglas 80

Edna Alice 129

Edwin R. 81
Eva J. Rickey 82V2

Fanny Eliza 128

William Edward 126

SAGE, Edna 135

Effie May 136

Eusebia 137

SANFORD, Genevieve

Thekla 124

SPRAGUE, Austin 83

Clellie 132

Eusebia 84

Lucretia 85

STORMS, Bernice 113

THOMAS, Marie L. 13 8

INDEX

TURNER, Carrie

63

WEBSTER, Caroline

4

Cynthia

17

Guy

27

Elisha Mason
Eva Maria

19
62

Lucretia
Lucretia
Marcia

4
26
25

John Pierpont Camp

20

Lucretia M.

15

Gov. John,
Lieut. Robert,

I
II

Maria

18

Jonathan,

III

Phebe Hopkins

16

Benjamin,
Benjamin,

IV
V

William Jay

61

Lucretia,

V

NOTE: This is a limited edition only, and in order
that those most interested, (namely, the descendants),
shall have precedence in the purchase of books, a period
of three months after date of publication is reserved for
such before selling to others.

(Signed) THE PUBLISHING COMMITTEE.

A. L. CLARK.
GEO. W. MASON.

#623